SSM Health’s Post

In rural communities like Cairo, Georgia, the resilience of maternal and infant care is a testament to the dedication of family medicine physicians. The recent spotlight on obstetrical care by physicians like Dr. Zita Magloire reflects the crucial role they play in delivering babies and providing comprehensive care to mothers in underserved areas. Despite the challenges of operating in rural settings, these healthcare heroes continue to address rising maternal mortality rates and the shortage of obstetrical services. The recent $11 million investment by the Department of Health and Human Services in rural programs, focusing on family medicine residencies with obstetrical training, signifies a pivotal step in addressing these pressing issues. As we acknowledge the challenges faced by rural healthcare providers, let's champion initiatives that ensure the sustainability of obstetrical units, encourage team-based care models, and support the training of family medicine doctors in obstetrics. Every mother, regardless of her geographic location, deserves access to quality maternity care, and by standing together, we can bridge the gaps in our healthcare system. #ruralhealthcare #maternalhealth #familymedicine #accesstocare https://lnkd.in/ewu7z8AT

Safe Passage: Navigating the Journey of Labor and Delivery with Confidence 🌟 Day 5 ➡ Ensuring Safe Deliveries: Internal Fetal Monitoring 👩⚕️💼 🤰✨ A critical tool that healthcare professionals use to achieve maternal and fetal safety during labor and delivery is Internal Fetal Monitoring (IFM). Let’s delve into what IFM is and why it plays a crucial role in safety. 🔍 What is Internal Fetal Monitoring? Internal Fetal Monitoring involves the placement of an electrode directly onto the fetal scalp to measure fetal heart rate accurately and continuously during labor. This method provides more precise data than external monitoring, especially when external methods are insufficient or if there are concerns about the fetus's well-being. 🔑 Key Benefits of IFM: 1️⃣ Accuracy: Offers a more accurate reading of the fetal heart rate, crucial for detecting any signs of distress. 2️⃣ Continuous Monitoring: Provides continuous data, allowing healthcare providers to respond promptly to any changes. 3️⃣ Increased Outcomes: Enhances the ability to make informed decisions regarding labor and delivery, promoting better outcomes for both mother and baby. 💡 When is IFM Used? ✅ When external monitoring is inconclusive or inadequate. ✅ In cases of high-risk pregnancies where close monitoring is necessary. ✅ When there are signs of fetal distress or abnormal heart rate patterns. 📋 AWHONN Guidelines: According to the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), internal fetal monitoring should be considered when there is a need for more accurate and continuous monitoring to assess fetal well-being, especially in cases where external monitoring methods are not effective or provide insufficient data. Adhering to AWHONN guidelines ensures that IFM is used judiciously to enhance maternal and fetal outcomes while minimizing unnecessary interventions. ✳ Risks and Considerations: 🔺Infection, 🔺Injury, 🔺Discomfort, 🔺Restriction of movement 🌟 By melding evidence-based practices with a steadfast commitment to excellence in obstetric care, I offer invaluable expertise to manage your cases adeptly 💪🌟   💬👶 Let's connect! #Obstetrics #MaternalHealth #Childbirth #SafeDelivery #EvidenceBasedCare #alohalegalnurse

This article's headline is problematic. "Can family doctors deliver rural America from its maternal health crisis?" 🤰 It puts pressure on a small group of health providers to solve a major crisis in the USA. Improving maternal health also relies on having policies, work cultures, and societal attitudes that aren't tone-deaf to the reality of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Doctors alone cannot make this change. 🤰 It shows that the media doesn't understand much about maternal health. Is it their fault? Some, because we should take ownership of our ignorance and get educated, especially when we have the resources. Yet, this is the narrative I've noticed in the USA and other countries. The health system, health authorities, and many health providers want to take ownership of maternal health issues. Which is great! But for some reason, they aren't open to working with other industries and professionals to solve the problem. I suspect it's tied to the business side. Because if they share the problem and collaborate, that could mean less money for the "owner" of the problem. Most of all, this scarcity mindset won't benefit mothers and families! 🤰 The article mostly covers #antenatal care and #childbirth + C-Sections. This is the general view of maternal health, not just in the USA. This is a problem because #postpartum becomes ignored as part of maternal health. Heck, we don't even know enough about the postpartum period! The definition and time frame itself aren't reflective of the reality of postpartum. This is where my mission lies. To update, reframe, and redefine the postpartum field. Because I don't want my girls to have the same issues as my generation and the women before us when they grow up. Especially if they decide to become mothers. So, some ideas: 🤰 The USA should look to Australia and study how they approach #ruralhealthcare, particularly for #obstetrics. The Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) trains general practitioners (equivalent to family medicine in the USA) to deliver health services specifically for rural and remote areas. This includes managing difficult obstetrics situations. I've worked alongside ACCRM doctors during my rural emergency term at Mount Isa as a junior doctor. They are superheroes in my eyes because I cannot do what they do. And I felt safe and supported whenever I was on shift because of them. 🤰 Health authorities need to start thinking outside of their medical system to solve health problems. Your doctors are meant to be specialists in what they do; in medicine, in surgeries, in diagnosing and treating maladies. And they're human. They need a break to prevent burnout. They shouldn't do everything! Find out who else in the community can help achieve the #maternalhealth goals you want. Engage non-clinical providers and businesses. Find out what they do and how they fit into your health program. Modern-day problems require modern-day approaches! So, get with the times!

Internal fetal Monitoring 🤰🏽 An electrode wire is connected to the fetal scalp through the cervix and linked to a monitor. This electrode is often referred to as a spiral or scalp electrode. This is a relatively safe procedure ✅

We studied the systems level factors affecting nurses working in rural hospitals. One thing we found is the need for better systems to transfer sicker patients to higher levels of care and more support of nurses who work in rural birthing units. In rural hospitals, every nurse needs to be "at the top of their game. You can read more about our findings here: https://lnkd.in/en_dssfj

Are rising US maternal mortality rates inflated? - Patient Engagement HIT Title: Are Rising US Maternal Mortality Rates Inflated? #Introduction A recent study has raised questions about the accuracy of rising maternal mortality rates in the US. #Maternal Mortality Rates The study suggests that the increase in maternal mortality rates may be inflated due to changes in how deaths are classified. #Data Analysis Researchers analyzed data from the CDC and found discrepancies in how maternal deaths were reported. #Underreporting There is concern that some deaths that should be classified as maternal deaths are not being accurately reported. #Implications The findings have important implications for public health policy and efforts to reduce maternal mortality rates. #Conclusion Further research is needed to better understand the true extent of maternal mortality in the US. # ai.mediformatica.com #pregnancy #health #maternalmortality #mortality #publichealth #study #documentation #engagement #gynecology #healthcare #obstetrics #digitalhealth #healthit #healthtech #healthcaretechnology @MediFormatica (https://buff.ly/43nlUmk)

As Women's Health Week comes to and end, NEOMED recognizes the importance of maternal health. Director of the Center for Global Health Innovation, Bernhard Fassl, M.D., found his calling while working in Nepal and experienced tragic events of women being unable to give birth in a safe environment. That experience led him to focus on pediatrics and maternal health in the context of global health and he has facilitated similar opportunities and experiences for students of medicine. He says “People need access to at least basic support services for maternal care. By basic, I really mean basic. You don't need a doctor. You just need a trained health care provider who knows how to monitor and to intervene early enough to prevent the most common causes of mortality." Read the story about Dr. Fassl's calling to pediatrics and maternal health: https://ow.ly/lruT50RLaHm

Family Doctors??? Not Midwives?? There’s currently two separate Maternal Health crisises in America. The Black Maternal Health crisis, caused by capitalism, racism, and historical antecedents of egregious maltreatment of Black Birthing people to the benefit of obstetrics beginning with the said father of Gynecology, J Merion Sims, followed by the 1910 Flexner Report findings, the 1917 initial US Maternal Health report, the 1922 Shepherd-Towner Act, ending with the influx of White Male Obstetricians with no birth experience who won the support of legislation and policy makers to secure their professions at the expense of Black bodies. The other Maternal Health crisis caused by politically charged mysogyny, classism, and poverty. Sadly, it is often hidden and smothered by privilege. The lives of mothers and babies due to trauma from just being White, racism, or their history as possible Planter’s Daughters is not causing their demise. In contrast, the same racism that gave BIPOCs “Colored” signs over water fountains in the south and redlining in the north is killing Birthing BIPOCs. Now which one can family doctors deliver?? Neither!!! They can be a part of the solution, but— just like Doulas, they are are ONLY a resource. The systems of regulation, policy, and funding, relative to Healthcare and Public Health administration must change in order to eliminate this entire crisis. Put BIPOC Midwifery back where you found it America!! They can eliminate this crisis!!! 85% of America was birthed by Midwives. Today only 6% of the Midwifery workforce in America is BIPOC. The system of enslavement, plantations, cotton, tobacco, and indigo was all made possible because of Midwives. The Maternal Health collapse in America is nothing more than the stench of spilled blood of women and the smoke screen filled aftermath of the 1922 Shepherd-Towner Act. This crisis can be fixed. Start with eliminating the red tape and racist gate keeping practices that styme access to the profession and reinforce the disproportionate number of Midwives. Make all midwives EQUAL — CM, CPM, or CNM- and create BIPOC Doula bridge programs that make the profession of Midwifery accessible. Ensure every birthing person has a birth companion and support within the first 42 days postpartum. Why skip over what actually will work? #maternalhealthcare #maternalhealthmatters

#southafrica #caesareansectionrates #WHO #privatehospitals 'The World Health Organization says that while “every effort should be made to provide a caesarean section to women in need”, country caesarean rates should range between 10% and 15%. In South Africa rates are much higher in both public and private sector hospitals. In public hospitals, caesareans accounted for 28.8% of all births between 2020 and 2022. In private sector hospitals the rate is 75%. Globally the average is 21%. In Europe the rate is 25.7%. As specialists in obstetrics and paediatrics we argue that South Africa’s caesarean section rates are too high. The over reliance on caesarean births places mothers and babies at great risk, including death and possible effects on brain development which have major implications for the child’s future.'

To better understand health care disparities that exist for women of color, Novant Health OB/GYNs went to the movies. They watched "Aftershock," a #documentaryfilm that follows Omari Maynard and Bruce McIntyre, #maternalhealth activists whose partners died in #childbirth. The unexpectedly single dads are fighting for institutional reform. Before Dr. Tomas Luley of Novant Health Southeast OB/GYN in Matthews saw the film, he thought cultural biases didn't exist in "a modern health care system." “'I thought cultural biases – the kind that put minority women at greater risk – must be rare in health care,' he said. 'I’ve seen that’s not the case. Women of color are at greater risk of poor outcomes and even increased mortality.' “'There’s a maternal health crisis in this country – and we all should acknowledge it and work to improve the care #womenofcolor receive.'” Yvonne Dixon, Novant Health’s director of health equity, led development of a training program for #doctors, #midwives, PAs and nurse practitioners in #pediatrics and #obstetrics. It's part of a strategy to tackle disparities in maternal and #infanthealth by helping clinicians recognize implicit #biases that can interfere with delivering the best care to all patients. Here's my latest for "Healthy Headlines."