CDC grant awarded to UNMC-supported mother and child advocacy group

A UNMC-supported entity, the Nebraska Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative, was awarded a five-year, $1.375 million Center for Disease Control and Prevention grant to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes in Nebraska.

The NPQIC is a health, advocacy and research organization founded to improve the quality of care for mothers and babies in Nebraska. The U.S. has increasing maternal morbidity and mortality, and Nebraska’s neonatal mortality is significantly higher than the national average and rising, said Ann Anderson Berry, MD, PhD, neonatal medical director of the NPQIC and executive director of the Child Health Research Institute, a collaboration between Children’s Hospital & Medical Center and UNMC.

Multiple recent government studies show that many of the poor outcomes in the perinatal period are worse in African American and Native American populations.

“Disparities in outcomes are not driven by race, but by social determinants of health. Access to care, quality of delivered care, communication with the health care team and other associated factors play a huge factor in health outcomes,” Dr. Anderson Berry said. “Additionally, across all people of childbearing age, current millennials and Generation Z populations are entering pregnancy with an increased risk for developing hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and pregnancy associated diabetes. These conditions dramatically increase the risk to both mother and baby throughout pregnancy.”

To address these issues, the CDC grant awarded to the NPQIC will support a collaboration with I Be Black Girl, a support organization for Black mothers and women, and fund a trial integration of culturally matched doula support in high-risk pregnancies. A doula is a trained professional who supports a pregnant person during pregnancy, throughout the delivery and post-delivery when complications can arise. Doulas also assist in establishing breastfeeding, when needed. Doula programs across the country have shown decreased cesarean section delivery rates, increased breastfeeding success and decreased rates of premature delivery.

“This funding will have a profound impact on the health of women and infants in Nebraska,” Dr. Anderson Berry said. “We now will have the opportunity and the resources to develop programing and partnerships with our communities to improve pregnancy and neonatal outcomes, to engage patients and to decrease the disparities in health outcomes that persist in our state.”

Ashlei Spivey, director of I Be Black Girl, said she welcomed the opportunity to address inequitable maternal outcomes through the opportunities the grant affords and the inclusion of her organization.

“I Be Black Girl is centered on those most impacted by the issues this grant seeks to address, and we are excited to bring the voices of the Black mamas and those with the capacity for pregnancy to this work,” Spivey said.

Sara Howard, policy advisor for First Five Nebraska, an organization focused on bringing about improvements in early child development, believes the collaborative funds will have a real impact on the neonatal outcomes for Black and Native American families.

“Doula programs are among the most efficient and effective assets available to us for improving the health care trajectories of entire communities. This grant is an important step toward making the best possible use of these important and highly skilled professionals to overcome the challenges of delivering and accessing neonatal health care supports where they are most needed,” Howard said.

Chad Abresch, PhD, executive director for CityMatCH, a national public health organization based at UNMC, echoes the excitement around the CDC grant.

“I congratulate the diverse team assembled to implement this grant. Their work represents advances in care we have seen to be effective in other states and will help ensure we move in the right direction for Nebraska families,“ Abresch said.

In addition to the CDC grant, United Health Care of Nebraska has given a one-year grant to supplement the work around culturally matched doula support. At this point, doulas are not covered by state insurance, and only some private insurance will cover this cost.