Hospitals chipping away at maternal mortality one birth at a time
If you could help break the silence around the nation’s maternal mortality crisis for something like 1 cent per message, wouldn’t you make the spend?
If so, know that a growing number of hospitals has already laid the groundwork.
They’re placing such “ads” on the wrist of every willing mother after she gives birth.
The message on the flexible bracelet: “I gave birth.”
The campaign started, humbly enough, at ECU Health in North Carolina during the Covid pandemic.
The idea was—and still is—to give mothers and care providers a visual reminder of the life-threatening health risks after birth, KFF Health News reports.
And now the wristbands are seen across that state and in 24 others.
Hard not to notice
The bright yet unobtrusive bands—which resemble this one selling for a literal penny apiece—are intended to alert first responders and other healthcare providers that “a woman has recently given birth and to check for postpartum complications, such as low blood pressure, bleeding or infections,” reporter Andrew Jones writes.
“Emergency department staff and EMS workers,” Jones adds, “sometimes don’t have adequate training to recognize postpartum complications, research shows, which can be dangerous when those patients end up in an emergency room.”
The article reminds the reader that, in this country, nearly 70% of pregnancy-related deaths happen after the day of delivery—and nearly 40% happen after the six-week mark.
Momentum to build on
Reporter Jones quotes Tamika Auguste, MD, chairwoman of the board at the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists Foundation.
Auguste praises the simple yet noticeable visual aids as a helpful way to “increase awareness and education around postpartum health.”
At the same time, she and other maternal healthcare specialists note that much more is needed to address U.S. maternal mortality.
Still, the bracelet project—which is so inexpensive it can’t help but be cost-effective—has gained momentum that other initiatives can build on.
“The bracelet itself is simply a reminder of, ‘Hey, I got education,’” says Jessica Noble, a nurse with ECU Health who helped spearhead the initial wristband drive.
If she “had a magic wand,” Noble tells KFF Health News, North Carolina would not just have better postpartum care but would also address the root causes of pregnancy complications.
“But I don’t have one, and I can’t make system-level change immediately.”
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.