Iowa Maternal Mortality Review Committee first convened in November of 1970. The committee has 13 members, meets two to three times annually, and reviews all pregnancy-associated deaths (All deaths of women while pregnant or within on year of the end of pregnancy, due to any cause). In 2020, Iowa had 37,597 live births and 5 pregnancy-related deaths. Our mission is to identify pregnancy-associated deaths, review those caused by pregnancy complications and other associated causes and identify the factors contributing to these deaths and recommend public health and clinical interventions that may reduce these deaths and improve systems of care.
Iowa HHS, the Iowa Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC) and the Iowa Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (IMQCC), wanted to take action to reduce maternal mortality. We collaborated with key stakeholders including the Department of Transportation (DOT), Zero Fatalities, the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau and Safe Kids Iowa to create a statewide social media campaign to remind pregnant and postpartum women that seat belts are safe for mom and safe for baby. The campaign was from July 1- Sept. 30, 2020. The key messages are that pregnant women should wear a seatbelt as recommended: Buckling up through all stages of pregnancy is the single most effective action you can take to protect yourself and your unborn child in a crash; If you’re involved in a crash during pregnancy, even a minor impact could have major implications so contact your health care provider; NEVER drive or ride in a vehicle without buckling up first, no matter where you are seated. The Iowa MMRC developed a distribution plan of seat belt safety educational flyers, which will include healthcare providers, hospital, and community organization such as Title V agencies, WIC offices, and DOT driver’s license stations.
Through funding from a HRSA grant Maternal Health Innovation, awarded to Iowa HHS, Iowa is implementing statewide AWHONN’s (Association of Women’s Health Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses) POST-BIRTH Warning Signs (PBWS) Education and the POST-BIRTH Warning Signs Implementation Toolkit, a set of essential resources created by AWHONN. At least ten (10) nurses from each of Iowa’s birthing hospitals and two (2) nurses from each Title V block grant funded maternal and child health agencies are being trained via the AWHONN POST-BIRTH Warning Signs online learning portal. These PBWS resources are designed to assist nurses in educating people about the signs and symptoms of potentially life-threatening conditions that can occur after they have given birth. AWHONN’s primary aim in developing the POST-BIRTH Warning Signs resources is to help hospitals in their efforts to reduce maternal mortality rates in the United States.
Iowa HHS developed a data-to-action approach by implementing a pilot program where African American/Black pregnant women are linked with an African American/Black community-based doulas called the Iowa Department of Public Health Title V Culturally Congruent Doula Project for African American/Black Pregnant Women.
