Perinatal quality collaboratives like TIPQC serve as essential engines for change by building local trust and driving clinic-by-clinic, hospital-by-hospital improvements that create momentum for state and national progress.
Data-driven approaches that engage diverse stakeholders can shift harmful narratives and create more effective, compassionate policy solutions, as demonstrated by Tennessee's neonatal abstinence syndrome surveillance system.
Maternity care deserts are not naturally occurring phenomena but result from deliberate policy decisions, requiring intentional policy solutions around reimbursement models and workforce development.
Clinicians should leverage their expertise in policy and advocacy spaces, starting with addressing frustrations in their own practice settings and recognizing they are the experts policymakers need.
The United States faces a maternal and infant health crisis with two women dying daily during pregnancy or postpartum and two babies dying hourly before their first birthday.
Low-dose aspirin for preventing preeclampsia is a cost-effective intervention that remains woefully underutilized, with less than half of high-risk women receiving recommendations from providers.
Progress is possible even in challenging circumstances, as Tennessee has shown statistically significant improvement in preterm birth rates through focused efforts on interventions like pregnancy smoking cessation.
Effective maternal and infant health improvement requires collaboration across multiple sectors including hospitals, clinics, community health centers, Medicaid programs, community-based organizations, and retail pharmacies.
Quotable Moments
"Every single day we lose two women in this country either during pregnancy or labor and delivery or the year postpartum. And every hour of every day, we lose two babies in this country before their first birthday."
"The solution to this crisis can't be driven solely by the federal government or by, by state governments or by a single organization."
"What works in one state may not work in another. In fact, what works in Memphis may not work in Knoxville or Nashville."
"I promise you, you are far and away the expert in maternal health or infant health in the room. You, you eat, sleep and breathe this every day."
"Unlike those naturally occurring deserts where species have adapted over millennia to, to thrive in an, in an environment of scarcity, the deserts we're talking about are the result of deliberate policy decisions and deliberate resource allocations."
"Those very basic easy questions should never be the stumbling block to a family meeting their breastfeeding goals."
"We were able to show from our data collection that the majority of babies born with withdrawal were born to moms who were using at least one substance prescribed to them by a licensed prescriber in the state of Tennessee."
"Start where you are. So if, if there's a, a challenge in the way, for example, your hospital approaches low dose aspirin for reducing the risk of preeclampsia, maybe you work in an outpatient clinical setting and you haven't built in the standardized screening to assess a pregnant woman's risk for preeclampsia."
Show Notes by Barevalue.
No content or comments made in any TIPQC Healthy Mom Healthy Baby Podcast is intended to be comprehensive or medical advice. Neither healthcare providers nor patients should rely on TIPQC’s Podcasts in determining the best practices for any particular patient. Additionally, standards and practices in medicine change as new information and data become available and the individual medical professional should consult a variety of sources in making clinical decisions for individual patients. TIPQC undertakes no duty to update or revise any particular Podcast. It is the responsibility of the treating physician or health care professional, relying on independent experience and knowledge of the patient, to determine appropriate treatment.
