Postpartum Emergency Care Materials Development & Testing

A new Mother stand in her daughters nursery as she takes a moment to enjoy Motherhood and soak it all in. She is dressed comfortably and holding her baby close to her chest as the two bond.

Applying communication science to develop, test, and promote resources supporting clinician readiness for pregnancy-related emergencies

Client

American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists
Dates

2021 – Present

Problem

Among pregnancy-related deaths, 53 percent occurred seven days to 1 year after the end of pregnancy.

Complications from pregnancy can happen over the course of pregnancy, during delivery, and up to one year after the end of pregnancy. These complications, which include cardiovascular conditions such as cardiomyopathy; hypertensive emergencies such as preeclampsia, eclampsia, and stroke; and conditions related to mental health such as suicide and overdose, can be life-threatening.

Patients who develop signs or symptoms of serious pregnancy-related complications and conditions may seek emergency care in nonobstetric settings—including EMS/911, hospital-based emergency departments, standalone emergency rooms, or urgent care facilities—where clinicians lack necessary readiness.

Solution

NORC is working with ACOG to create new tools and resources for identification and management of pregnancy-related emergencies in non-obstetric settings.

NORC is supporting American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) in developing and testing materials aimed at enhancing readiness among non-obstetric practitioners to identify, stabilize, and treat pregnant and postpartum patients with obstetric emergencies who present outside the obstetric setting.

The project has two main goals:

Expand the number of relevant obstetric emergency resources available to emergency medicine, urgent care, and EMS practitioners in non-obstetric practice settings.
Increase knowledge and awareness among non-obstetric health care practitioners to identify and manage patients with obstetric emergencies.

Result

Our evaluation will monitor key deliverables and outcomes to maximize practititioners' readiness for pregnancy-related emergencies.

We are using evaluation data to track progress towards goals and objectives, for quality improvement, and to improve services delivered in non-obstetric settings.

Learn More About the Study

Please visit the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' information page on identifying and managing obstetric emergencies in non-obstetric settings.

opens in new tab ACOG.org Website