Community partners can co-design Black maternal care

Hospitals can co-design maternity care with community partners to improve Black maternal health outcomes proactively and collaboratively, according to an American Hospital Association blog. The strategy enables health care organizations to create more inclusive, responsive and effective maternal health initiatives to address the challenges Black women encounter during pregnancy and childbirth. Summa Health in Akron, Ohio, for example, partnered with community-based organizations to implement its CenteringPregnancy model, which incorporated two-hour long weekly services and resources delivered by a consistent care team. Breastfeeding rates and postpartum visits increased, while preterm deliveries and infant mortality decreased. (AHA blog, 5/15/24)