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As we celebrate National Rural Health Day on Nov. 19, it’s important to recognize the work rural hospitals are doing to improve access to maternal care for mothers living in rural communities, writes Priya Bathija, AHA’s vice president of strategic initiatives.

Brookings Health System established the state’s first free doula program for delivery and postpartum care, staffed by volunteers. The nine-year old program also receives high marks from patients and hospital staff.

As we celebrate National Rural Health Day on Nov. 19, it’s important to recognize the work rural hospitals are doing to improve access to maternal care for mothers living in rural communities, writes Priya Bathija, AHA’s vice president of strategic initiatives.

More than 700 women die from pregnancy- and delivery-related complications every year, with thousands more suffering from severe health problems related to pregnancy, write AHA’s Robyn Begley, R.N., senior vice president and chief nursing officer and CEO of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership, and Priya Bathija, vice president of strategic initiatives, who note that such deaths are disproportionately affecting communities of color due to implicit biases and disparities.

There are so many statistics being shared related to maternal mortality in the United States — but what is the real story?

Pregnant women with COVID-19 are more likely than their non-pregnant counterparts to be admitted to an intensive care unit, receive invasive ventilation, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or die, according to a study of 461,825 women with symptomatic COVID-19 released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

What are some disparities associated with maternal and child health in your community? What are the root causes of these disparities? Explore how hospitals, health systems and their community partners are joining forces to examine and address disparities in maternal care, ultimately increasing access to equitable care and improving health outcomes.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued two challenges aimed at improving maternal health.

Spectrum Health’s Maternal Infant Health Program offers personalized services to help mothers and families have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby.

The Department of Health and Human Services announced a pair of innovation challenges aimed at improving maternal and infant health.

In partnership with The Value Initiative, this webinar highlights the importance of teamwork when detecting and coordinating critical obstetric emergencies. Elissa Concini, MSN, RNC-OB and Rachel Cunniffe, MSN, RNC-OB from Geisinger Health and Diana Contreras, MD from Atlantic Health System share their journey of providing better team-based care during labor and delivery, along with building a culture of collaborative care. (Webinar presented October 14, 2020)

Learn about best practices and solutions that will improve health equity for mothers.

Pittsburgh’s UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital adopted a variety of technologies to improve clinical outcomes and promote greater patient engagement.

Through the use of apps, remote monitoring and video visits, UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital targets prenatal and postpartum hypertension, expands access to maternal fetal specialists and increases patient engagement.

The March of Dimes launched BlanketChange.org, using the hospital receiving blanket as an emblem of the organization’s call to improve maternal health outcomes through equity, access and prevention.

The National Institutes of Health launched the IMPROVE (Implementing a Maternal Health and Pregnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone) initiative, which seeks to improve maternal health outcomes and reduce disparities through research on the causes of maternal mortality and complications.

The House of Representatives passed by voice vote the AHA-supported Helping Medicaid Offer Maternity Services Act (H.R. 4996), as amended.

AHA’s latest Members in Action podcast dives into the importance of promoting race equity to ensure healthy pregnancies, healthy babies and better outcomes for the community in general.

AHA Sept. 23 sponsored the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference session, “Advancing Black Maternal Health: Moving the Momnibus and Coverage Expansion Forward.”

In this Members in Action podcast featuring maternal and child health efforts, we are speaking with Dr. Ken Fawcett, Vice President and Peggy Vander Meulen, Manager of Community Health Programs of Spectrum Health Healthier Communities program.