Strategy, policy, and
implementation support
for maternal-newborn,
perinatal, and midwifery systems.
We help create health systems that are equitable, sustainable, and designed for the people they serve.
Civitas helps governments, Indigenous organizations and leadership, health organizations, funders, and international partners strengthen the systems that shape care for women, babies, families, communities, and care providers.
We work across policy, programs, governance, funding, workforce, service design, and implementation to help clients move from complexity to clarity — and from strategy to meaningful, sustainable action.
Our Work
Maternal-newborn and perinatal health systems are complex. They involve many partners, competing priorities, limited resources, and decisions that affect care at every level.
Civitas helps clients understand that complexity, identify practical pathways forward, and design strategies, programs, and models of care that are grounded in evidence, clinical realities, community priorities, and implementation.
Our work is focused on strengthening systems so they better support care providers, improve access and quality, respond to community needs, and create lasting impact.
Service Areas
-
Maternal-Newborn & Perinatal Strategy
We support the development of maternal-newborn and perinatal health strategies that improve access, coordination, quality, equity, sustainability, and outcomes across the continuum of care.
-
Midwifery Systems Development
We help strengthen midwifery systems through policy, governance, workforce planning, funding, education, regulation, service integration, and implementation support.
-
Policy, Program & Funding Alignment
We help clients translate evidence, clinical realities, and community priorities into policies, programs, and funding approaches that are practical, coherent, and implementable.
-
Models of Care & Service Design
We support the design and refinement of maternal-newborn, perinatal, reproductive, and midwifery models of care that are responsive to population needs and grounded in the realities of service delivery.
-
Workforce Planning & Implementation Support
We help clients align workforce, education, regulation, funding, governance, and service delivery so strategies can move from concept to practice.
-
Indigenous Maternal-Newborn Health Partnerships
We support respectful, community-led work with Indigenous organizations, leaders, care providers, and communities to strengthen maternal-newborn, perinatal, and midwifery systems.
-
International & Cross-Cultural Systems Support
We support maternal-newborn, perinatal, and midwifery systems work across diverse cultural, linguistic, and institutional contexts.
-
Engagement, Facilitation & Strategic Alignment
We support thoughtful engagement and facilitation processes that bring partners together across systems, sectors, disciplines, and communities.
“Laya has provided thoughtful and highly skilled support to our organization in understanding the funding, jurisdictional, clinical, and broader perinatal health systems that shape access to care for our members. Her ability to translate complexity into clear, practical guidance helped us better integrate and focus our services in ways that are responsive to the needs of the people we serve.
She also provides ongoing weekly support to members navigating pregnancy care pathways, service structures, and accessing needed resources. Her approach is compassionate, knowledgeable, culturally respectful, and grounded in a deep understanding of both clinical care and health systems. Her work has been invaluable in helping members and our organization move through layered systems with greater clarity and confidence.”
— Ana Alonso, International Program Lead, Maven Clinic
How We Help
-
We help clients map the current context, identify gaps, understand relationships, and clarify the policy, funding, workforce, governance, and service delivery factors shaping care.
-
We support partners to bring evidence, community priorities, clinical realities, and system goals into clearer alignment.
-
We develop strategies, policies, programs, models of care, and implementation plans that are tailored to context and realistic to sustain.
-
We help clients move from recommendations to action through planning, coordination, tools, stakeholder engagement, and ongoing advisory support.
-
We help clients reflect on what is working, identify what needs to change, and adapt strategies, programs, and implementation plans as systems evolve.
This may include evaluation support, learning frameworks, progress reviews, synthesis of feedback, and practical recommendations to strengthen impact over time.
Focused advisory support, short-term projects, and longer-term strategy or
implementation partnerships.
Civitas supports clients at different stages of systems work — from early exploration and strategic planning to policy development, implementation, evaluation, and adaptation.
Types of Engagements
Strategy & Systems Planning
Maternal-newborn and perinatal health strategies
Midwifery systems development plans
System reviews and needs assessments
Models of care and service redesign
Workforce planning
Policy, Funding, & Decision Support
Policy, program, and funding reviews
Funding strategies and business cases
Briefing materials and decision-support tools
Reports, recommendations and implementation plans
Research, reports, scans, and synthesis to help organizations understand their current context, deepen their analysis, and identify what is needed next.
Engagement, Implementation & Learning
Partner engagement and facilitation
Indigenous maternal-newborn health planning support
International and cross-cultural advisory work
Implementation roadmaps
Evaluation, learning, and adaptation support
Grounded in care.
Designed for systems. Built for implementation.
OUR APPROACH
Every project begins with listening. We work to understand the people, relationships, constraints, opportunities, and decisions that shape each system.
Our approach is collaborative, practical, and relationship-based. We do not apply generic frameworks or one-size-fits-all solutions. We work with each client’s context to develop thoughtful, evidence-informed strategies that can be acted on and sustained.
OUR WORKING MODEL
Connected expertise.
Meaningful impact.
Civitas is a founder-led practice. When additional expertise is needed, we draw on a trusted network of specialists.
This flexible model ensures you receive the right knowledge and experience while maintaining continuity, accountability, and a consistent point of connection.
Whether you are developing a maternal-newborn strategy, strengthening midwifery systems, redesigning services, aligning funding and workforce planning, or supporting implementation,
Civitas can help connect the pieces.