Chair File: Transforming Maternal Health Care and Outcomes

Ensuring all women have the care they need during and after pregnancy is a priority at U.S. hospitals and health systems.

You likely know the impetus behind this priority. While the maternal mortality rate has decreased the past year, the U.S. still has the highest rate of maternal deaths of any industrialized nation. And Black women die from pregnancy and childbirth complications at a higher rate than white women. Given that reality, many local, state and national efforts are now focused on transforming maternal health care and improving outcomes.

Across the country, hospitals and health systems are addressing all aspects of maternal care, including access, disparities, the social drivers of health, and mental health concerns. Here are just a few examples:

• Northwell Health in New York launched a Center for Maternal Health, part of the Katz Institute for Women’s Health, in 2022 to improve maternal care inside and outside the hospital and address “complex risk factors from preconception through the first year after delivery” and social drivers of health that “raise the risk” of those issues among Black women. The health system’s Maternal Outcomes and Morbidity (MOMS) Collaborative Navigation program focuses on providing the best possible outcome and safe delivery for mom and baby.
• St. James Hospital in Butte, Mont., part of Intermountain Health, developed the “First 1,000 Days of Life” initiative to provide wraparound services for at-risk pregnant women. These moms receive care, guidance and support throughout their pregnancy and also during the first two years of their baby’s life. Care coordinators at the hospital connect moms and families to community resources as needed.
• Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, La., recently opened a Perinatal Mental Health Unit to provide specialized treatment for women experiencing mental health challenges and who are pregnant, up to one year postpartum or have suffered a pregnancy loss within the previous year. It will be one of the hospitals featured in a Nov. 21 AHA webinar on optimizing postpartum mental health support.

Dartmouth Health, the system I lead, worked with the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services to launch the New Hampshire Perinatal Quality Collaborative to improve maternal and infant health care outcomes across the state.

Many states have established a Perinatal Quality Collaborative that brings together clinical teams, public health leaders and other organizations and individuals — including patients and families — to ensure quality of care for moms and their babies. Hospitals and health systems are key partners in PQCs, which review data, track progress, share best practices and discuss opportunities for improvement.

The AHA is committed to driving improvement in maternal health. Newly designed webpages dedicated to maternal and child health highlight case studies, podcasts, infographics and action plans. The AHA also advocates for policies aimed to improve maternal health across the continuum of care and to include government and community partners in this effort.

Quality, equitable, maternal health care is vital to mothers, their babies and families — and our communities. Healthy pregnancies and a strong start for children are part of the foundation for advancing the nation’s health.

Election Day: With Election Day tomorrow, I want to encourage everyone who hasn’t voted yet to do so. Please see the Nov. 1 column from AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack on the importance of voting.