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.
Here’s One Issue Blue and Red States Agree On: Preventing Deaths of Expectant and New Mothers
From Indiana to Oregon, lawmakers are passing bills to increase scrutiny of maternal deaths. Often, they’re citing our “Lost Mothers” series.
A Larger Role for Midwives Could Improve Deficient U.S. Care for Mothers and Babies
According to a new study, states that give midwives a greater role in patient care achieve better results on key measures of maternal and neonatal health.
Severe Complications for Women During Childbirth Are Skyrocketing — and Could Often Be Prevented
The rate of life-threatening complications for new mothers in the U.S. has more than doubled in two decades due to pre-existing conditions, medical errors and unequal access to care.
Nothing Protects Black Women From Dying in Pregnancy and Childbirth
Not education. Not income. Not even being an expert on racial disparities in health care.
New Jersey Bill Would Create Commission Empowered to Probe Deaths Related to Pregnancy and Childbirth
Spurred by ProPublica and NPR’s reporting, New Jersey lawmakers are moving to tighten requirements to report maternal deaths, investigate their causes and identify ways to prevent them.
Another Thing Disappearing From Rural America: Maternal Care
A new study shows that more than half of the country’s rural counties now don’t have hospitals with obstetric services. And women of color are being hit the hardest.
Many Nurses Lack Knowledge of Health Risks for New Mothers, Study Finds
A nationwide survey shows that postpartum nurses often fail to warn mothers about potentially life-threatening complications, mainly because they need more education themselves.
‘If You Hemorrhage, Don’t Clean Up’: Advice From Mothers Who Almost Died
We’ve heard from 3,100 women who survived life-threatening complications of pregnancy or childbirth. They told us what they wish they had known — and what they would say to other new and expectant mothers.
Lost Mothers
An estimated 700 to 900 women in the U.S. died from pregnancy-related causes in 2016. We have identified 120 of them so far.
The Last Person You’d Expect to Die in Childbirth
The death of Lauren Bloomstein, a neonatal nurse, in the hospital where she worked illustrates a profound disparity: the health care system focuses on babies but often ignores their mothers.