Leading Causes of Maternal Mortality and Morbidity
The U.S. has the highest maternal death rate among the world’s developed nations, a rate that has continued to rise while remaining stable or falling in other developed countries. Many factors contribute: lack of quantification of blood loss, delayed treatment of high blood pressure, and more recently, a high rate of cesarean deliveries in low-risk, first-time pregnant women.
Learn Best Practices From Leading Perinatal Safety Organizations
Frequently Asked Questions
Articles in USA Today and The New York Times have brought attention to the maternal mortality crisis, followed by the Preventing Maternal Deaths Act and Congressional Inquiry. The reality is that there is a significant amount of variation in care despite having national evidence-based guidelines and protocols for the areas where women die most commonly in pregnancy and after delivery. Therefore, rapid patient safety improvement for our mothers and their babies is of the utmost importance.
“Three factors known to be associated with a higher risk for C-section births—maternal obesity, multiple gestation rate, and rate of labor induction—have all risen in parallel to C-section births and are likely contributors. Although C-sections can be lifesaving, the surgery also involves serious risks and higher long-term costs, including medical costs related to treatment of abdominal pain and complications from pelvic adhesions compared to vaginal birth. The concern also lies in the high rate of cesarean delivery in low-risk, first-time pregnant women.”
Nurses and doctors are highly sophisticated, adult learners. Therefore, a typical cookie cutter, roll-and-scroll approach will not meet their needs. Instead:
- Take a blended learning approach combining the best of e-learning and instructor-led training.
- Respect established proficiency and focus learning only on identified areas for improvement.
- Offer courses that are specifically created for adult learners, who make decisions not only through knowledge-based facts, but also through ever-evolving mental scripts based on years of clinical experience.
Many times, nurses and doctors are gathering information through different, siloed sources and education programs. Training all members of your care team on the same education platform, creates a shared mental model. Ensure that the education solution meets the different needs of the two groups, while still providing aligned information to improve communication and create a common language and vision for care.
Data from assessments can help hold your clinicians accountable for their continuous improvement. First, having data from an initial assessment, as well as a re-assessment, provides an objective measure of improvement (or lack thereof) of overall knowledge and critical thinking. Second, having data on industry benchmarks can help guide your conversations surrounding different clinical areas with individual clinicians, as well as at the facility level.
GNOSIS for OB is the former name of Relias OB. In 2014, Relias acquired Advanced Practice Strategies (APS), which established its reputation as an innovative market leader with two unique products: GNOSIS and Prophecy.
How Are You Preventing Maternal Mortality?
Delivering the next generation in obstetrics education can help elevate your entire care team’s performance. Reviewed and validated by AWHONN, Relias OB, formerly GNOSIS, reduces variation to empower high reliability and save mothers’ lives now.
- Uncover Variation: Measure and identify individual clinician and team variation and deliver a prioritized, personalized learning path based on the highest areas of risk
- Increase Proficiency: Promote best practices from world-renowned experts through short 2-7-minute, highly-interactive adult learning modules that inspire critical thinking
- Improve Patient Safety: Equip hospital leaders and risk managers with data to proactively identify and invest in areas that will improve quality of care
Fill out the form to speak to a Relias representative to discuss expanding your organization’s current maternal mortality initiatives with transformational education that makes a difference in every team member’s care delivery.