Nina Martin

Reporter

Photo of Nina Martin

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.

Rotoscoped ink on paper drawing of a Black man boarding a bus.

How COVID-19 Hollowed Out a Generation of Young Black Men

They were pillars of their communities and families, and they are not replaceable. To understand why COVID-19 killed so many young Black men, you need to know the legend of John Henry.

Black Men Have the Shortest Lifespans of Any Americans. This Theory Helps Explain Why.

The unrelenting stress of fighting systemic racism can alter a body’s normal functioning until it starts to wear down. The theory, known as John Henryism, helps explain racial health disparities.

Nobody Accurately Tracks Health Care Workers Lost to COVID-19. So She Stays Up At Night Cataloging the Dead.

Anesthesiologist Claire Rezba started tracking lost health workers almost instinctively. Researchers and industry professionals say the lack of good official data on these deaths is “scandalous” and is putting lives in danger.

Agonizing Lag in Coronavirus Research Puts Pregnant Women and Babies at Risk

After months of asserting pregnant women were not at high risk for the coronavirus, the CDC recently released a study with sobering findings for expectant mothers. Experts say the data gaps are almost as worrisome as the results.

COVID-19 Took Black Lives First. It Didn’t Have To.

In Chicago, 70 of the city’s 100 first recorded victims of COVID-19 were black. Their lives were rich, and their deaths cannot be dismissed as inevitable. Immediate factors could — and should — have been addressed.

“Similar to Times of War”: The Staggering Toll of COVID-19 on Filipino Health Care Workers

One of every four Filipinos in the New York-New Jersey area is employed in the health care industry. With at least 30 worker deaths and many more family members lost to the coronavirus, a community at the epicenter of the pandemic has been left reeling.

“I’m Terrified”: Pregnant Health Care Workers at Risk for Coronavirus Are Being Forced to Keep Working

Pregnant doctors, nurses and medical support staff have continued going to work, whether they want to or not, even as the latest research on coronavirus and pregnancy has caused a new sense of worry.

They Didn’t Have Coronavirus Symptoms Until After They Gave Birth. Then They Tested Positive.

The team at a top New York City hospital raced to stabilize a woman who hemorrhaged and developed breathing issues during her C-section delivery. Then they decided to evaluate her for COVID-19. She tested positive, a new study says.

Lo que significa el coronavirus para un embarazo, y otras cosas que deben saber las madres embarazadas y nuevas

Es probable que la experiencia que esperaba tener sea bastante distinta a la que vivirá realmente. La clave para mantener la cordura es estar lo más lista posible y arrojar los planes ya organizados por la ventana.

What Coronavirus Means for Pregnancy, and Other Things New and Expecting Mothers Should Know

The experience you expected is likely to be very different from the one you actually get. The key to staying sane is to be as ready as possible to throw your best-laid-plans out the window.

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.

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.

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