Transdisciplinary Imagination: Addressing Equity and Mistreatment in Perinatal Care

Strategies to Promote Maternal Health Equity

“…1) in perinatal QI, perinatal quality collaboratives and stakeholders can collaborate to leverage resources, expertise, and networks to identify and address inequities, communicate efforts broadly, build capacity through education and trainings, and deeply engage communities to bring local knowledge and expertise to project success. 4,5,32,39,40,[42][43][44][45][46][47][48] The California Perinatal Quality Collaborative described partnerships as a key to success through an example of partnership with the March of Dimes. This partnership allowed for nationwide dissemination of clinical toolkits created and published on their website.…”

“…This includes incorporating patient feedback in QI-initiative selection, integrating lessons learned from patient-reported experience measures, and working with community organizations to enhance community resources to improve pregnancy outcomes. 5,31,34,[39][40][41][42][43][45][46][47]49 Engaging patients and families in project governance, including QI health equity committees, is also recommended. 34 Increasing opportunities for accountability, collaboration, communication, education, and changes in health care structures are merits of this strategy.…”

“…1) in perinatal QI, perinatal quality collaboratives and stakeholders can collaborate to leverage resources, expertise, and networks to identify and address inequities, communicate efforts broadly, build capacity through education and trainings, and deeply engage communities to bring local knowledge and expertise to project success. 4,5,32,39,40,42–48…”

Research and Professional Literature to Inform Practice, September/October 2023

“…Labor and birth offer a unique time for patients interacting with health care providers, involving both intimate and prolonged interaction between patient and provider that requires both patience and urgency. Providers, too, have been pushed to the brink throughout the COVID‐19 pandemic and may take out frustrations with health systems on individuals in an unconscious way 6 . However, mistreatment at the hands of providers during labor and birth has been well documented before the pandemic 1 , 2 .…”