June 15, 2021 | by: Molly Giammarco, MPP
Lamaze International’s call for increased advocacy joins a chorus of stakeholders, maternity care providers, and policymakers seeking to improve maternal health outcomes. This is taking place on many different fronts, through increased awareness, dialogue, partnerships—and legislative action. Since the inaugural Lamaze Advocacy Summit in 2017, the number of maternal health-related bills introduced in the U.S. Congress have tripled.
Initiatives to identify and address causes and contributors to maternal mortality and morbidity have prompted a deeper dive into maternal healthcare in United States—and growing number of different bills introduced each year reflects the progression from discussion to action. The uptick of maternal health bills in just a few short years is a positive step toward improving maternal health outcomes
Read More
September 10, 2020 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
Gestational hypertension is a major concern as people move through their pregnancy. Abnormal blood pressures indicating a hypertensive disorder is a significant cause of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes worldwide. Preeclampsia along with infection and hemorrhage are the three largest cases of maternal mortality currently. It is thought that 1 in 4 deaths that occur from hypertension/preeclampsia in pregnant people are preventable. A new study was just released “A new definition of gestational hypertension? New-onset blood pressures of 130 to 139/80 to 89 mm Hg after 20 weeks of gestation” that attempts to predict those pregnant people who may be at risk of experiencing a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy.
Read More
October 08, 2019 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
Connecting the Dots and Lamaze International are delighted to learn and share with you all a new resource, Expecting More, being launched today by Ariadne Labs. Ariadne Labs is an organization that is part of a school of public health, where, much of their work to date has focused on the challenges health systems face in delivering safe care for people who are trying to start or grow their family. Neel Shah, MD, one of the co-founders of Expecting More along with Jocie Fifield, states that families expect more than emerging from childbirth unscathed. This campaign is being launched to engage leading thinkers and influencers like Lamaze International and you in exploring what #ExpectingMore could and should look like, alongside the families we all aim to serve.
Read More
September 06, 2018 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
A new report released by The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) states that the rate of severe maternal morbidity during childbirth has risen sharply in the past ten years.
Read More