Maternal and Child Health Resource Repository

Chatham Hospital is a 25-bed Critical Access Hospital (CAH) located in Siler City, NC. The hospital, accredited by The Joint Commission, provides surgical, medical, pediatric, maternal and emergency services. Community-based outpatient services also are offered.

Hospital leaders and clinicians will join experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, AHA and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Jan. 26 to discuss how health care professionals can work with their patients and communities to build trust in the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant people.

SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy may cause inflammatory immune responses in the fetus, even if the virus does not infect the placenta, according to a small National Institutes of Health study published in the journal Nature Communications.

In a recent memo to state survey agencies, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services encouraged hospitals to review their maternal health policies and procedures and incorporate maternal safety bundles and other evidence-based best practices for managing obstetric emergencies and addressing disparities.  

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health recognized 20 organizations, including AHA-member hospitals and health systems, for their effective programs to monitor and provide follow-up care for hypertensive disorders to pregnant and postpartum women.

The Health Resources and Services Administration awarded states and territories an additional $81 million in emergency funding from the American Rescue Plan Act for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program, which provides voluntary home visits to improve maternal and child health for families in high-risk communities.

America’s hospitals and health systems are committed to providing the best possible care for all women, including pregnant women, new mothers and their babies, and to amplifying the voices of women of color who are disproportionately affected by maternal morbidity and mortality.

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, M.D., released an Advisory on Protecting Youth Mental Health, which calls for a “a whole-of-society effort to address longstanding challenges, strengthen the resilience of young people, support their families and communities, and mitigate the pandemic’s mental health impacts.”

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services intends to propose adding a “birthing-friendly” hospital designation on its Care Compare website to drive improvements in perinatal health outcomes and maternal health equity, the Department of Health and Human Services announced.

The White House hosted a summit to mark the first federal Maternal Health Day of Action. The summit highlighted actions the federal government is taking to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity. 

The House passed the Maternal Vaccination Act (H.R. 951), an AHA-supported provision from the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act that would direct the Health and Human Services Secretary to carry out a national campaign emphasizing the importance of maternal vaccinations.

Learn how Virtua Health empowered OB-GYN physicians and nurses to integrate protocols that lowered C-section, hypertension and hemorrhage rates for patients in labor in this AHA Members in Action case study and podcast. 

The AHA has joined the Children’s Hospital Association, American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry as a partner in Sound the Alarm for Kids, an initiative urging Congress to enact legislation and increase funding to better support mental health for children and teens. 

Virtua Health, a comprehensive community health system, serves communities in southern New Jersey and the greater Philadelphia region. The health system sees 8,000 to 9,000 deliveries across three of its five acute care hospitals, making women’s health among its leading service lines. Virtua used the opening of Virtua Voorhees in 2011, a 400-bed hospital, to evolve care delivery for laboring patients.

Makunda Abdul-Mbacke, M.D., an obstetrician-gynecologist, shares the challenges she faces in her rural Virginia community and her hopes for the future of rural health.

A replay is now available of the Nov. 8 AHA/American Academy of Pediatrics/Children’s Hospital Association webinar on vaccinating pediatric patients against COVID-19. The webinar offers insights, resources and lessons learned to assist pediatricians and hospitals in working with parents and communities to build trust in the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine for children.

The stark differences in maternal health outcomes between Black and White women are widening at an escalating pace, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over a two-year period, health care organizations and their community partners in four cities — Atlanta, New Orleans, Detroit and Washington, D.C. — tested and scaled locally driven initiatives to improve Black maternal health equity.

In this Members in Action podcast, Northwell Health’s Viktor Klein, M.D., system director of quality and patient safety for OB/GYN, and Adriann Combs, clinical director of OB/GYN services, share how launching the Maternal Outcomes and Morbidity Collaborative (MOMS) has increased awareness of maternal health complexities, and reduced disparities in maternal care.

The National Institutes of Health will support a four-year study on the potential long-term effects of COVID-19 on women infected with SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy.