Urgent Maternal Warning Signs Education Quality Improvement Project

The Urgent Maternal Warning Signs (UMWS) Quality Improvement Project (QIP) is the second quality improvement project that is part of the larger Maternal Safety Quality Improvement initiative sponsored by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). Hemorrhage, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, and infection are the leading causes of death during the first six days postpartum. Every woman who gives birth has the potential to experience a postpartum complication, and women who are educated on the specific signs and symptoms of the leading causes of maternal morbidity and mortality may act more quickly to seek care and may receive more timely and appropriate interventions.

The UMWS QIP is administered by the Ohio Colleges of Medicine Government Resource Center (GRC), in partnership with The Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center and College of Social Work. The UMWS QIP aims to increase knowledge of and improve health outcomes among women at risk for an adverse event related to urgent maternal warning signs. The first year of the project focused on engaging 26 WIC sites in the counties of Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton, and Montgomery to collect data on WIC participants and deliver the UMWS education verbally and with a physical handout. Within an 8 month timeframe, 97.5% of eligible women received the educational material for UMWS, and sites overwhelmingly reported a positive reception to the information.

In the second year of the UMWS QIP, engagement has focused on all WIC sites in all counties totaling 74 WIC projects across the state. WIC projects have taken part in educational webinars to introduce them to the UMWS material and its importance. WIC projects received the UMWS Change Package and the UMWS Patient Handout. Projects will now begin to disseminate the UMWS educational handout to WIC participants.

Subsequent cycles of the project will engage Evidence Based Home Visiting sites through 2024.

Through the collaboration of clinical leaders and state partners, the project team will prioritize the health equity focus to meet the goal of reducing disparity in maternal care.