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Convening Leaders to Prioritize Maternal Safety

This is a guest post from Andrew F. Rubenstein, MD, FACOG, Chair, Total Quality Improvement Committee, Partnership for Maternal and Child Health.

Dr. Rubenstein (L) at the inaugural symposium in 2018.

I am honored to co-chair the 2nd Annual Maternal Health & Perinatal Safety Symposium scheduled for November 1 at the Clinton Inn in Tenafly.

Having a baby is a life-changing experience. Maternity care and healthcare outcomes vary significantly from provider to provider, and hospital to hospital, rural areas to the inner-city. Most Americans take for granted the system of childbirth. They believe that pregnancy, delivery, and post-partum care, including facilities management, will be a safe and standardized experience and result in a healthy mother, baby, and family. Unfortunately, the data and media tell a different story.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, the maternal mortality rate in the United States lags far behind other developed countries. When you add to this the social determinants of health, racial and ethnic disparity, and the reproductive injustices, the clinical outcomes are staggering for the most developed and resourceful country in the world.

How can we save lives, reduce severe maternal morbidities, and improve health care outcomes?

Advocating for improved maternal and perinatal health through public health policies and regulations along with the education of the providers and healthcare facilities and the communities and patients, to the evidence-based standards and protocols with the structure and process measures outcomes has been at the forefront of redirecting care and improving measured outcomes.

The 2nd Annual Maternal Health and Perinatal Safety Symposium will provide the necessary opportunities and relevant tools at optimizing these maternal public health initiatives within the design of a structured educational forum.

With the primary focus on the level of collaborative, team-based, multi-disciplinary efforts, the Symposium will provide participants with the necessary strategies and critical thinking to advocate for systemic changes. The presentations will address the structural bias, social inequities, reproductive injustice, scalable social determinants of health, perinatal mood disorders, health disparities, and racism that adversely impact public health care and clinical practice. It is through discussion and collaboration that we can enhance educational forums, empower health care leaders, engage policymakers, inspire colleagues, and restructure systems of care. We must ensure the health and well-being of every mother and infant.

This year’s objectives focus on the most relevant topics in maternal health and safety including Health Equity, Racial and Ethnic Disparity, Patient and Family Partnership Engagement, and the Power of Collaboration to Improve Maternal Outcomes.

On behalf of the Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey, along with our sponsors, we are honored to convene distinguished faculty, leading advocates, and moderators to directly address these critical issues. Nearly 300 physicians, nurses, social works, public health professionals, and hospital administrators are expected to participate. I hope you will join me on November 1 for this thought-provoking day of discussion.