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A new AHA resource shares ways hospitals and health systems are caring for mothers and babies during the COVID-19 crisis.

The CDC reported a notable drop in routine childhood vaccines ordered and administered through the federal Vaccines for Children program during the COVID-19 emergency.

During Mental Health Awareness Month, Keri Hanson, maternal mental health program coordinator at SCL Health/Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver, Colo., reflects on a forced move toward virtual maternal behavioral health services because of the COVID-19 emergency. Read more.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released guidance for health care providers who care for breastfeeding women and infants who receive breast milk, based on what is currently known about the virus that causes COVID-19 and the transmission of other viral respiratory pathogens.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently announced a six-month delay in implementation of its Innovation Center Maternal Opioid Misuse (MOM) Model, due to COVID-19.

Responding to a Senate Finance Committee request for solutions to address poor maternal health outcomes, AHA suggested several specific actions that could be taken at the federal level, from expanding Medicaid in non-expansion states and extending postpartum coverage for women enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP to requiring state Medicaid programs to cover telemedicine for maternal care.

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission published a pair of reports. In its March report to Congress, MACPAC, a key congressional advisor on the Medicaid program, updated its annual analyses of disproportionate share hospitals, including national estimates of the number of these facilities, spending by state, and uncompensated care costs by hospital type.

The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee approved 13 health care bills, including legislation that would reauthorize the AHA-supported Healthy Start program and codify Medicaid coverage for non-emergency medical transportation.

Members of the Black Maternal Health Caucus introduced a package of bills supported by the AHA and its American Organization for Nursing Leadership to prevent maternal mortality and racial and ethnic disparities in outcomes. 

AHA Executive Vice President Tom NIckels provides a statement on the black maternal health Momnibus Act.

Mayo Clinic – Rochester, Minn. OB Nest Redesigns Prenatal Care for Low-risk Pregnancies Mayo Clinic developed the OB Nest program to optimize prenatal care for low-risk expectant mothers and transform care from a medicalized model to an innovative wellness model. Patients enrolled in the program report being more satisfied with the care received and less prenatal stress.

The AHA invites rural hospitals and health systems to participate in the Better Maternal Outcomes Rapid Improvement Network — a free, six-month program focused on maternal outcomes and respectful care.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Office of Minority Health seeks public input through April 12 on opportunities to improve health care access, quality and outcomes before, during and after pregnancy for women and infants in rural communities.

Discover evidence-based toolkits from the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) to achieve significant results in maternal health outcomes.

There is no risk-free setting for giving birth, whether at home, a birth center or a hospital, according to a report released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Each birth setting has both risks and benefits, the study committee found. 

Since implementing best practices related to maternal hemorrhaging, Titus Regional Medical Center’s maternal morbidity rate related to blood loss has been reduced significantly.

Homicide was a leading cause of maternal deaths in Louisiana during 2016 and 2017, exceeding any single pregnancy-associated cause, according to a study reported this week in JAMA Pediatrics.

The national maternal mortality rate in 2018 was 17.4 per 100,000 live births, and ranged from 11.8 per 100,000 for Hispanic women to 37.1 per 100,000 for black women, according to data released by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Two subcommittees of the House Education and Labor Committee held a joint hearing titled “Expecting More: Addressing America’s Maternal and Infant Health Crisis,” which focused on strategies to reduce the nation’s maternal mortality rate and eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in maternal and infant health.

U.S. Surgeon General Vice Admiral Jerome Adams, M.D., and Jay Bhatt, D.O., AHA senior vice president and chief medical officer, write that American maternal health must improve, and they outline actions health care leaders should take to improve outcomes.