More than half of new mothers don’t fully understand their care plans, while health plan leaders rank member engagement and navigation as a top maternal health priority
BALTIMORE, July 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — More communication doesn’t necessarily mean better communication for pregnant women and new mothers, according to new independent research from Sage Growth Partners (Sage), a national healthcare growth strategy and marketing firm.
Sage has released The Communication Chasm: Why Mothers Feel Lost in the System and How Health Plans Can Help, the second report in its State of Maternal & NICU Care 2026 research series.
Based on a survey of 300 recently pregnant women and 50 health plan leaders, the report reveals a significant disconnect between the maternity resources health plans provide and how well members understand and value the information they receive.
Just 4% of surveyed health plan leaders say members understand their maternity and postpartum coverage “very well,” while 58% say members understand it only “somewhat well.” At the same time, 56% of surveyed mothers say they don’t fully understand their care plans.
“At one of the most important and vulnerable points in a family’s healthcare journey, too many women are struggling to understand their coverage, navigate their care and find the support they need,” said Dan D’Orazio, CEO of Sage Growth Partners. “The good news is that health plan leaders clearly recognize the problem. Now the challenge is moving beyond simply providing more information and finding better ways to make that information timely, personalized and useful.”
Health plan leaders appear ready to act, as sixty-eight percent rank member engagement and navigation as a top priority for maternal and NICU care strategies over the next 24 months.
The research also highlights the complexity of closing the communication gap. Among surveyed mothers:
- 36% did not always receive communications in their preferred language.
- 41% felt underconfident taking their babies home from the hospital.
- Fewer than 30% say the resources provided by their health plans are helpful.
Even commonly used communication channels are falling short. While 53% of surveyed members received text messages from their health plans, only 28% say those messages were valuable. Yet text messaging ranked as the most effective communication channel measured in the survey.
“Health plans need to rethink how, when and where they communicate with pregnant and postpartum women. Closing this chasm isn’t about increasing the volume of communication. It’s about making every interaction more relevant and actionable,” said D’Orazio.
The report also identifies fundamental coverage questions that remain unclear to many mothers. The five most difficult aspects of coverage for surveyed mothers to understand are:
- How long postpartum coverage lasts (38%)
- What services are covered (37%)
- Copays and deductibles (30%)
- Which hospitals or providers are in network (29%)
- Pre-admission approval requirements (21%)
The Communication Chasm is the second report in Sage’s State of Maternal & NICU Care 2026 research series. Additional findings from the research will be released in the coming months. Download the full report here.
About Sage Growth Partners
Sage Growth Partners is a healthcare growth strategy and marketing firm with deep expertise in market research, go-to-market strategy and marketing communications. Founded in 2005, Sage combines deep healthcare industry expertise with market intelligence, strategy and execution to help healthcare organizations solve complex market challenges and achieve sustainable growth. Sage serves clients across the healthcare ecosystem, including GE HealthCare, Press Ganey, LexisNexis, ProgenyHealth, Kyruus Health, Philips, Cecelia Health and Xealth.
For more information, visit sage-growth.com.
John Gonda
Sage Growth Partners
JGonda@sage-growth.com
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SOURCE Sage Growth Partners
