Olivia Walton: "Expand your benefits" because it's smart for your business

Take better care of moms, not because it's the right thing to do, but because it's the smart thing to do for your business. And so you're talking to a room full of employers. I mean, what's the message that they should take home on this topic? Expand your benefits. Not because it's the right thing to do, because it is the smart thing to do, and it is good for your bottom line. So we know from the data from many large self-insured companies that as they have improved their perinatal benefits, As they have covered things like midwives and doulas, their costs have come down and their outcomes have improved. Why? Well, for example, we know statistically that using midwives leads to lower C-section rates, which leads to lower levels of babies in the NICU. All those things bring down the costs and lead to healthier families. And paid leave. I mean, Ruth Porat was here speaking earlier. Google published about a decade ago what happened when they started expanding paid leave, and the results were extraordinary. recruitment and retention. This really is an employer issue. Employers cover about 40% of births in this country and you play a vital role. So you need to do these things.