The Region IV Provider Support Network is charged with reducing North Carolina Perinatal Region IV’s maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality rates through establishing a system to determine risk-appropriate levels of maternal and neonatal care. We are committed to providing the support to deliver quality, evidence-based care. Through the dissemination of the latest guidelines, providing education in identified gaps, assisting in needed trainings and simulations for the staff – we are here to support you.
Outpatient Bundle for Severe Hypertension
As part of the Health Resources Service Administration (HRSA) funded Maternal Health Innovations (MHI) Grant to reduce NC’s Maternal Mortality and Morbidity, the Provider Support Network is building partnerships and responding to identified needs of the providers in Perinatal Region IV. Through conversations with outpatient clinics, it came to our attention that many clinics do not have the resources or systems in place to quickly respond to patients with severe hypertension.
The national maternal safety bundles have primarily been focused on the inpatient setting. We have drafted an “Outpatient Severe Hypertension Bundle.” It consists of an adapted version of the AIM ACOG “Severe Hypertension in Pregnancy and Postpartum Bundle” (with the addition of a fifth “R” – “Respectful Care”).
We have adapted these materials in a Clinical Practice Bulletin for the outpatient setting:
NC Birth Capacity Connector
NC Birth Capacity Connector (NCBCC) – A resource for North Carolina labor and delivery (L&D) and neonatal intensive care units (NICU) to share up-to-date bed capacity information. The information included in the NCBCC report can facilitate transfers and admissions to outside facilities for non-emergent care. Before sending a patient to a center, please call the NICU or L&D unit to confirm capacity.
Clinical Resources
Click below to learn more.
Patient Care:
- Implicit Network: https://www.fmec.net/implicit
- Perinatal HIV/AIDS National Consultation: Perinatal HIV/AIDS | National Clinician Consultation Center (ucsf.edu)
- Preconception Health and Health Care Initiative: https://beforeandbeyond.org
- California Diabetes and Pregnancy Program (CDAPP) Sweet Success Resource & Training Center Website: https://www.cdappsweetsuccess.org
- Hyperemesis Education and Research (HER): https://www.hyperemesis.org/who-we-help/healthcare-providers/
- Thiamin Supplementation Fact Sheet (from HER): 1MOM_FactSheet_Thiamin_2022.pdf (hyperemesis.org)
- Outpatient Hypertension Management Practice Bulletin: https://www.mombaby.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/OutpatientHypertensionManagementPracticeBulletin-Nov1.pdf
Equity:
- Society for Maternal and Fetal Medicine (SMFM): https://www.smfm.org/equity
- Black Mamas Matter Toolkit: https://www.reproductiverights.org/document/black-mamas-matter-toolkit-for-advancing-human-right-to-safe-respectful-maternal-health-care
- Racial Equity Institute: Groundwater Workshop: https://www.racialequityinstitute.com/ourservices
- LOOM Antiracist Birth Plan: LOOM Antiracist Birth Preferences – Neutral (mcusercontent.com)
Patient Information Materials:
- Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) Patient Education: https://www.highriskpregnancyinfo.org
- American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG): https://www.acog.org/womens-health
- Preconception Health and Health Care Initiative: https://beforeandbeyond.org/resources/patient-education
- Checking your Blood Pressure at Home & What To Do With Your Blood Pressure Numbers: English Version, Spanish Version
Quality and Safety:
- Perinatal Quality Foundation: https://perinatalquality.org/default.aspx
- Alliance for Innovation of Maternal Health (AIM) Bundles: https://saferbirth.org/patient-safety-bundles/
- Maternal Health Learning & Innovation Center: https://maternalhealthlearning.org/
- CDC HEAR HER Campaign: https://www.cdc.gov/hearher/index.html
- ACOG Webinar: Maternal Cardiac Conditions, Addressing a Leading Cause of Pregnancy-Related Death
- Birth Control After Baby, whether you want more children or you are all done, this resource is a guide to learn about birth control, birth spacing, sex, and relationships for postpartum moms. Click to view Birth Control After Baby booklet. Also available in Spanish (click to view Métodos anticonceptivos luego del parto.)
- 4th Trimester Project: https://newmomhealth.com/
- You Quit, Two Quit, a program of the UNC Collaborative of Maternal and Infant Health (CMIH), aims to ensure that there is a comprehensive system in place to screen and treat pregnant and postpartum women for tobacco use. This program supports free trainings for North Carolina practices and also provides assistance in integrating tobacco screening and treatment into clinic’s workflow, and a number of free resources available that can be incorporated into your practice. Visit YouQuitTwoQuit.org to learn more.
- Safe Sleep NC is a program of the UNC Collaborative of Maternal and Infant Health (CMIH). The goal of Safe Sleep NC is to strengthen the adoption of infant safe sleep practices that reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and that prevent infant sleep-related deaths across the state. This program offers free patient education materials, online trainings for healthcare professionals, technical assistance to organizations, and a website designed to provide key information for healthcare professionals and parents/caregivers (English and Spanish). Visit SafeSleepNC.org to learn more.
- Incarcerated Women’s Health is a program of the UNC Collaborative of Maternal and Infant Health (CMIH) through a one-time CDC funding to address the care and treatment of pregnant and postpartum persons in local jails, including ways to mitigate COVID -19 among this highly vulnerable demographic of our community. CMIH is working with partners across the state, including those with lived experience to develop materials and trainings to best address care for this population. Visit https://incarceratedwomenshealth.org to learn more.
- MAHEC’s Free Webinar Series: Doing Better Together to Equitably & Innovatively Advance Reproductive Health and Healthcare with a Focus on Human Rights, Quality Improvement, and Interprofessional Collaboration: https://mahec.net/home/event/70246
- MAHEC’s Just US: Before, Birth, and Beyond Podcast: Just US: Before, Birth, and Beyond | Podcast on Spotify
- North Carolina Pregnancy & Opioid Exposure Project: https://ncpoep.org/
- Community Care of North Carolina: Pregnancy Medical Home: Pregnancy Medical Home | Community Care of North Carolina (communitycarenc.org)
- NC Division of Public Health: Women’s Health Branch Publications Ordering Site: https://whb.ncpublichealth.com/provpart/pubmanbro.htm
- NC Maternal Mental Health MATTERS: https://www.med.unc.edu/ncmatters/
- Perinatal Quality Collaborative of North Carolina: https://www.pqcnc.org/
- The “I Gave Birth” Initiative https://www.mombaby.org/2023/erase-maternal-mortality/
I Gave Birth Initiative
The I Gave Birth Initiative assists in identifying ways to reduce maternal mortality, complications of pregnancy and up to a year postpartum.
Our CMIH team collaborates with North Carolina hospitals, clinics, and communities to provide free training on maternal warning signs during pregnancy and 1 year postpartum to provide assistance with planning and implementation of obstetric emergency protocols.
About Us
The Provider Support Network is the connection between the Obstetric (OB), Family Medicine (FM) and Pediatric Champions working collaboratively with the Perinatal Nurse Champion to bring providers, nurses and health care teams together to provide the best possible continuous care for women in Perinatal Region IV from preconception through pregnancy, postpartum and inter-conception.
Counties of Region IV: Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Durham, Franklin, Granville, Johnston, Lee, Orange, Person, Vance, Wake, Warren.
