Nina Martin
Nina Martin was a reporter covering sex and gender issues. She joined ProPublica in 2013 and is based in Berkeley, California.
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Nina Martin was ProPublica’s sex and gender reporter, with a special interest in women's health and racial equity. Her "Lost Mothers" project with NPR, examining maternal mortality in the U.S., led to sweeping change to maternal health policy at the state and federal levels; it also won numerous awards, including the 2018 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting, a Keck Futures Initiative award from the National Academies of Science, George Polk and George Foster Peabody awards, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting.
Martin’s other work at ProPublica focused on the criminalization of drug use in pregnancy, the role of religion in health care, and racial and gender disparities in COVID-19 deaths.
Previously, she was the articles editor and executive editor at San Francisco magazine and held staff positions at the Baltimore Sun, the Washington Post, the International Herald Tribune, and Health and BabyCenter magazines. Martin has a B.A. in public policy from Princeton and an MSJ from Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism.
The New U.S. Maternal Mortality Rate Fails to Capture Many Deaths
Since 2007, the government had held off on releasing an official estimate of expectant and new mothers who died from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. It waited for the data to get better. But the new, long-anticipated number falls short.
Did You Give Birth in Your Home? Help ProPublica and Vox Report.
We’re trying to better understand what drives women in America to have babies at home rather than in a hospital or birth center. Help us out by filling in this survey.
The Extraordinary Danger of Being Pregnant and Uninsured in Texas
Over three years, nearly 400 pregnant or new mothers died in Texas. Its system for helping the uninsured thwarts women at every turn, frustrates doctors and midwives, and incentivizes substandard care.
What Happens When New Mothers Don’t Have Insurance? Help Us Find Out.
Women are getting kicked off Medicaid quickly after giving birth or aren’t qualifying for care to begin with.
We’re Investigating How Insurance Gaps Endanger Mothers. This Is Why.
Women are getting kicked off Medicaid quickly after giving birth or aren’t qualifying for care to begin with.
“Landmark” Maternal Health Legislation Clears Major Hurdle
In the wake of the ProPublica and NPR series “Lost Mothers,” the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill to fund state committees to review and investigate deaths of expectant and new mothers.
Murder Charge Can’t Deter Sharpton’s Brother From Voting Rights Crusade
As more states adopt laws that could restrict turnout, Kenneth Glasgow and his allies are pushing to extend the vote to millions of ex-felons. Will the flimsily supported charge against him undermine this movement on the verge of its greatest success?
Trusted Health Sites Spread Myths About a Deadly Pregnancy Complication
From the Mayo Clinic to Harvard, sources don't always get the facts right about preeclampsia. Reached by ProPublica, some are making needed corrections.
U.S. Senate Committee Proposes $50 Million to Prevent Mothers Dying in Childbirth
After years of Congressional inaction, legislators in both parties want to back efforts by states and hospitals to reduce the U.S. maternal mortality rate, the highest in the developed world.
Redesigning Maternal Care: OB-GYNs Are Urged to See New Mothers Sooner and More Often
Sweeping changes in medical practice could improve the dismal U.S. rate of maternal deaths and near-deaths, an influential doctors’ group says.