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Health-harming legal needs in a perinatal medical-legal partnership

Ladawna Gievers1, Lauren Mutrie2, Browning Haynes2

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA. gievers@ohsu.edu.

Journal of Perinatology : Official Journal of the California Perinatal Association
|July 20, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Perinatal medical-legal partnerships (MLPs) address critical legal needs for families with newborns. These services focus on family stability and housing, mitigating social determinants of health early in life.

Area of Science:

  • Public Health
  • Legal Medicine
  • Neonatal Care

Background:

  • Health-harming legal needs significantly impact families during the perinatal period.
  • Early intervention is crucial for addressing social determinants of health in newborns and their families.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe the health-harming legal needs of families receiving support from a perinatal medical-legal partnership (MLP).
  • To evaluate the scope and types of legal issues encountered by families in a fetal care program and neonatal intensive care unit MLP.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective descriptive study conducted from 2020 to 2024 at an academic medical center.
  • Analysis of sociodemographic, clinical, and legal data for 110 families and 123 newborns accessing MLP services.
  • Data collection focused on legal needs identified during neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admissions.

Main Results:

  • 183 legal needs were addressed across 110 families and 123 newborns.
  • Legal issues were identified throughout NICU hospitalizations (day 3-250).
  • 44% of families presented with multiple legal issues, primarily concerning family stability (custody, parentage, divorce, safety) and housing.

Conclusions:

  • Perinatal medical-legal partnerships (MLPs) provide an essential upstream intervention point.
  • MLPs effectively address social determinants of health during the critical early stages of a child's life.
  • Addressing legal needs proactively can improve family stability and health outcomes.
Abstract

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