Maternal Health - California Health Care Foundation

Maternal Health
Childbirth is the number one reason for hospitalization in the US and California. Annually, 500,000 babies are born in the state, and half of those births are paid for by Medi-Cal. Yet there are significant and unwarranted variations in the quality of maternity care, alarming disparities among patient outcomes, and wasted resources. CHCF aims to improve the quality and lower the cost of maternity care in California by reducing unnecessary interventions and delivering appropriate care.

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2019 Edition — Maternity Care in California

Maternal Health

Nearly half a million babies were born in California in 2018, representing one in eight of all births in the US. While the number of births has declined since 2000, childbirth remains the number one reason for hospitalization in the state. Maternity Care in California: A Bundle of Data provides an overview of the delivery of maternity care in California and compares the state’s performance by demographic groups, over time, and provides a comparison to national numbers.

eConsult for Psychiatrists Treating Perinatal Women with Serious Mental Illnesses

Emily C. Dossett, Christopher Benitez, Natalia Garcia

Behavioral Health, Maternal Health, Patient-Centered Care

Nearly one in five of California’s pregnant and postpartum women suffer from depression, anxiety, or other severe illness such as bipolar disorder (perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, or PMADs). A pilot project sought to increase capacity of psychiatrists in Los Angeles County to provide medication management to women with severe PMADs.

Improving Maternal Mental Health Care

Maternal Health

CHCF is working with partners to develop innovative, practical solutions for delivering mental health care to California's mothers and expectant mothers in need.

Quantifying the Cost of Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders in the US

Maternal Health

Maternal mental health disorders are the most common medical complication during and after childbirth. The most comprehensive large-scale analysis of costs to date finds these disorders also exert significant financial costs on individuals, families, and the economy.

Improving Birth Equity in California

Maternal Health

Improving Birth Equity in California is a quality-improvement initiative designed to improve birth care, experiences, and outcomes for, by, and with Black mothers and birthing people in California.

Listening to Mothers in California

Maternal Health

More than 2,500 women share their attitudes and experiences of childbirth. The results reveal what is and isn't working with maternity care in the Golden State.

My Birth Matters: C-Section Consumer Education Campaign

Maternal Health

This campaign is designed to educate expectant mothers about cesarean delivery and encourage conversations between them, their doctor, and care team.

Reducing Unnecessary C-Sections in California

Maternal Health

CHCF is working with partners statewide to promote higher-value maternity care by reducing the rate of unnecessary c-sections in five years to under 23.9% for low-risk deliveries.

November 17, 2017

Webinar — Engaging Consumers to Reduce Unnecessary C-Sections: Sneak Peek at Progress So Far

Maternal Health

November 17, 2017

Learn about progress being made in a collaborative effort to educate patients and providers on reducing unnecessary c-sections.

Why We Partnered with Yelp to Deliver Maternity Care Measures

August 31, 2017

Stephanie Teleki

Maternal Health, Patient-Centered Care

Under a new partnership, Yelp now displays maternity care quality measures for the nearly 250 California hospitals that provide maternity care services in the state.

Birthing a Movement to Reduce Unnecessary C-Sections: An Update from California

November 9, 2017

Stephanie Teleki

Maternal Health

There are many reasons for the current overuse of c-sections at US hospitals. CHCF took a multipronged approach to easing some of the key problems that have historically prevented the rate from dropping.

Working Toward Happier Birthdays: An Effort in California to Lower C-Section Rates

November 24, 2015

Stephanie Teleki

Maternal Health

Because of the health risks and costs associated with the overuse of cesarean sections, CHCF has launched an initiative to lower California's c-section rate for low-risk deliveries to 23.9%.

October 1, 2014

Briefing — Improving Maternity Care in California

Maternal Health, Medi-Cal

October 1, 2014

Experts discussed how to use data to improve maternity care -- essential to advancing Californians' health and helping to put the Medi-Cal safety net on sound financial footing. Watch the video.

2017 Edition — Quality of Care: Maternal and Childbirth Health

Maternal Health

While California continues to make progress on the quality of care provided to women during their pregnancies and deliveries, there is room for improvement.

A Tale of Two Births: High- and Low-Performing Hospitals on Maternity Measures in California

Bruce Spurlock, Anne Boyd Rabkin

Maternal Health

Expectant mothers can have different delivery experiences depending on the hospital. This analysis of maternity care measures finds wide variation in how California's hospitals performed.

Symposium — Using Data to Improve Maternity Care in California

Maternal Health

Leading researchers and practitioners in maternity health care gathered in June to examine research priorities and to explore ways Medi-Cal data can be leveraged to develop opportunities for improving maternal health care.

December 10, 2015

Webinar — Better Care for Women with Maternity-Related Mental Health Needs

Behavioral Health, Maternal Health

December 10, 2015

Hear about perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and the successes and challenges for a pilot program to train primary care providers in treating patients.