Postpartum Gray Literature

Annotation: This resource kit provides comprehensive guidance for optimizing transfers from community birth settings (planned home births or freestanding birth centers) to hospitals when higher levels of care are needed. The document outlines best practices, tools, and resources for developing collaborative systems of care between community birth providers, emergency medical services, and hospital teams. Key sections cover readiness planning, recognition and prevention strategies, response protocols, reporting/systems learning approaches, and respectful care practices. The kit emphasizes health equity, trauma-informed care, and the importance of standardized communication protocols during transfers. It includes numerous practical examples, templates, and educational resources to support quality improvement initiatives. It aims to facilitate safe and respectful transfers by promoting integration and coordination between community and hospital-based maternity care providers.

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Keywords: Access to care, Birthing Centers, Childbirth, Guidelines, Health care systems, Home childbirth, Maternity hospitals, Obstetrical care, Perinatal health, Risk factors, Service coordination

Annotation: This resource kit is a collection of best practices to aid in the early recognition of changes in pregnant and postpartum patient’s vital signs and clinical conditions. Developed by the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM), it addresses the rising maternal mortality rates in the United States, particularly noting racial and ethnic disparities, and presents MEWS (Maternal Early Warning System) as a critical tool for early recognition of potential complications. The resource kit includes sections on readiness assessment, recognition and prevention, response protocols, reporting and systems learning, and respectful care practices. It features practical implementation tools such as trigger criteria examples, protocol templates, assessment tools, and patient education resources. The kit emphasizes multidisciplinary teamwork, healthcare professional training, EHR integration, and post-event reviews to support standardized protocols for recognizing and responding to maternal health conditions, with the goal of reducing preventable adverse outcomes and maternal mortality.

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Keywords: Maternal health, Maternal mortality, Patient education, Perinatal care, Postpartum care, Prevention, Professional training, Protocols, Risk factors, Standards

Annotation: These patient safety bundles are the core building blocks of the AIM program’s efforts to address the leading known causes of preventable severe maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States. Supported by quality metrics and measures through the AIM Data Center, each bundle provides actionable steps that can be adapted to a variety of facilities and resource levels to improve quality of care and outcomes for patients. Individual safety bundles cover the following: obstetric hemorrhage, severe hypertension in pregnancy, safe reduction of primary cesarean birth, cardiac conditions in obstetric care, care for pregnant and postpartum people with substance use disorder, perinatal mental health conditions, postpartum discharge transition, and sepsis in obstetric care. Some materials are available in English, Spanish, and French.

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Keywords: Evidence based medicine, Health care quality indicators, Health metrics, Maternal health, Maternal morbidity, Maternal mortality, Measures, Perinatal care, Postpartum care, Protocols, Quality improvement, Resources for professionals , Safety, prevention programs

Annotation: The Postpartum Discharge Patient Safety Bundle was revised in 2021 to incorporate respectful concepts and data collection tools. The bundle provides actionable steps that can be adapted to a variety of facilities and resource levels to improve quality of care and outcomes during a critical period in which patients are at risk for maternal morbidity and mortality. It emphasizes the importance of establishing systems for scheduling timely postpartum visits, screening for risk factors, providing standardized discharge education about warning signs including mental health concerns, and ensuring patients receive a comprehensive discharge summary. It also highlights the importance of coordinated clinical pathways between inpatient and outpatient settings, trauma-informed care, and addressing biases that affect quality of care. Bundle components include implementation details and resources, a data collection plan, an evidence-informed "change package," and learning modules.

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Keywords: Data collection, Evidence-based medicine, Health care quality indicators, Health metrics, Maternal morbidity, Maternal mortality, Measures, Postpartum care, Prevention, Protocols, Quality improvement, Resources for professionals, Safety, Standards

Annotation: The Obstetric Hemorrhage Patient Safety Bundle provides actionable steps that can be adapted to a variety of facilities and resource levels to improve quality of care and outcomes for patients experiencing an obstetric hemorrhage. Included are evidence-based protocols on risk assessment, quantitative blood loss measurement, standardized emergency management plans, hemorrhage carts with necessary supplies, and multidisciplinary team drills. The bundle was revised in 2022 to incorporate respectful care considerations, revise existing elements, related to evidence-informed practices, and update data collection plans. It emphasizes the importance of addressing racial and ethnic disparities in obstetric hemorrhage outcomes through policy review and disaggregated data monitoring. Components include implementation details and resources, a data collection plan, an evidence-informed "change package," and learning modules.

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Keywords: Data collection, Evidence-based medicine, Health care quality indicators, Health metrics, Maternal morbidity, Maternal mortality, Measures, Obstetrical complications, Postpartum care, Postpartum hemorrhage, Prevention, Protocols, Quality improvement, Resources for professionals, Safety

Annotation: This patient safety bundle provides actionable steps that can be adapted to a variety of facilities and resource levels to improve quality of care and outcomes for patients experiencing hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. The bundle was revised in 2022 to incorporate respectful care concepts, revise existing elements, include new elements related to evidence-informed practices, and update data collections plans. Components include implementation details and resources, a data collection plan, an evidence-informed "change package, " and learning modules.

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Keywords: Data collection, Evidence-based medicine, Health care quality indicators, Health metrics, Hypertension, Maternal morbidity, Maternal mortality, Measures, Obstetrical complications, Perinatal care, Postpartum care, Prevention, Prevention, Protocols, Quality improvement, Resources for professionals, Safety, Screening

Annotation: This patient safety bundle provides actionable steps that can be adapted to a variety of facilities and resource levels to improve quality of care and outcomes for patients with cardiac conditions (disorders of the cardiovascular system). It provides guidance for health care teams to develop coordinated, multidisciplinary care for pregnant and postpartum patients with cardiovascular conditions and to respond to cardio-obstetric emeregencies. The bundle is organized into five domains: 1) Readiness , 2) Recognition and Prevention , 3) Response , 4) Reporting and Systems Learning , and 5) Respectful Care . Components include implementation details and resources, a data collection plan, an evidence-informed "change package," and learning modules.

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Keywords: Cardiovascular diseases, Data collection, Evidence-based medicine, Health care quality indicators, Health metrics, Maternal morbidity, Maternal mortality, Measures, Obstetrical complications, Perinatal care, Postpartum care, Prevention, Protocols, Quality improvement, Resources for professionals, Safety

Annotation: This patient safety bundle provides actionable steps that can be adapted to a variety of health care facilities and resource levels to improve quality of care and outcomes for pregnant and postpartum patients with substance use conditions. The bundle was revised in 2021 to incorporate respectful care concepts, revise existing elements, include new elements related to evidence-informed practices, and update the data collection tools. Components include implementation details and resources, a data collection plan, an evidence-informed "change package," and learning modules.

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Keywords: Data collection, Evidence-based medicine, Health care quality indicators, Health metrics, Maternal morbidity, Maternal mortality, Measures, Perinatal care, Postpartum care, Prevention, Protocols, Quality improvement, Resources for professionals, Safety

Annotation: This patient safety bundle provides actionable steps that can be adapted to a variety of health care facilities and resource levels to improve the quality of care and outcomes for patients with perinatal mental health conditions. It provides broad direction for incorporating perinatal mood and anxiety disorder screening, intervention, referral, and follow-up into maternity care practice across health care settings. Components include implementation details and resources, a data collection plan, an evidence-informed "change package," and learning modules.

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Keywords: Data collection, Evidence-based medicine, Health care quality indicators, Health metrics, Maternal morbidity, Maternal mortality, Measures, Mental health, Perinatal care, Postpartum care, Prevention, Protocols, Quality improvement, Resources for professionals, Safety

Annotation: The "Sepsis in Obstetric Care" patient safety bundle provides guidance for health care teams to develop coordinated, multidisciplinary care for pregnant and postpartum people by preventing infection and recognizing and treating infection early to prevent progression to sepsis. Included are actionable steps that can be adapted to a variety of facilities and resource levels to improve quality of care and outcomes for patients experiencing sepsis. The bundle is organized into five domains: Readiness, Recognition and Prevention, Response, Reporting and Systems Learning, and Respectful, Equitable, and Supportive Care. Individual components include implementation details and resources, a data collection plan, an evidence-informed "change package," and learning modules.

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Keywords: Data collection, Evidence-based medicine, Health care quality indicators, Health metrics, Maternal morbidity, Maternal mortality, Measures, Mental health, Obstetrical complications, Perinatal care, Postpartum care, Prevention, Protocols, Quality improvement, Resources for professionals, Safety