Stepping out of silos: Emerging maternal health innovations to shape the future

Full Description: Decades of MCH policies and programs have attempted to address increasing rates of maternal mortality and morbidity in the United States, but the numbers remain unacceptably high when compared with other countries, and stark racial and geographic inequities persist. Looking back on lessons learned over time, MCH professionals in many sectors have come to understand that systems-level interventions, such as innovation across sectors and collaboration to address upstream causes, are keys to saving lives and improving outcomes. In 2018 two key federal agencies (the Maternal and Child Health Bureau and the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy) stepped out of their silos to launch simultaneous and connected innovation initiatives in nine states and three rural regions. Three additional rural sites were added in 2021. All 15 are supported by a new MCHB-funded maternal health resource center dedicated to advancing innovation and equity in maternal health, the Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center (MHLIC). All nine of the state maternal health innovation programs are led or co-led by Title V MCH professionals.
During this workshop, the MHLIC will facilitate conversations with 2-3 of the states/rural collaboratives to illuminate how their intentional work outside their own MCH silos has led to innovation in maternal health practices. States/collaboratives will also describe how they are defining and advancing equity in their work.
Participants can expect to learn about tangible approaches being used in a variety of states and rural regions within states to combat maternal mortality and morbidity. The discussion will highlight how the innovations are addressing racial, geographic or other identified inequities in the state/region. Some examples of policies and programs that may be included in the panel discussion include: the integration of implicit bias training and related activities as part of perinatal quality collaborative work, the expansion of postpartum Medicaid to one year after birth, expanding existing telehealth services to deliver maternal health interventions, and the integration of mental health professionals into high risk two-generation clinics. Panel participants may also describe how they have used existing perinatal health plans to drive change, and how they have built upon existing Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) initiatives and the findings and recommendations from state maternal mortality review committees.
The session format will be a panel of 2-3 states/rural collaboratives, who will each describe the activities of at least one innovation they are using to reduce maternal mortality and/or morbidity. The MHLIC will provide an overview of the national landscape of maternal health innovation, moderate the panel and describe resources that are available to support maternal health innovation in the field, including potential upcoming funding opportunities for state MCH programs.

Abbreviated Description: Twelve state and rural maternal health initiatives have spent the past two years testing maternal health innovations in partnership with health care systems and community partners. Their goal is to stem the tide of rising maternal morbidity and mortality. After a brief overview of these federally funded initiatives (and three new rural collaboratives), 2-3 states/rural collaboratives will describe their innovations, focusing specifically on collaborative work outside traditional MCH silos and how their innovations advance equity goals. The Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center (MHLIC) provides support for all fifteen initiatives and will facilitate discussion among the panelists about lessons learned to date that might apply in other states/rural regions.