Bridging the Gap: The State of Rural Maternal Health in Colorado
Despite the state’s robust health care industry, there are still persistent maternal health disparities in certain areas, which puts some expectant mothers at a disadvantage.
How CPCQC is Responding to Rising Cesarean Rates
In 2024, the Colorado Perinatal Care Quality Collaborative (CPCQC) innovatively revamped its SOAR Primary Cesarean Reduction program into a one-year, intensive learning collaborative. This decision comes in response to a concerning trend observed since 2016: a steady increase in Cesarean rates among low-risk birthing individuals in Colorado, alongside growing disparities in Cesarean rates across different hospitals and providers.
Mobilizing Hospitals for Change: A Collaborative Approach to Cesarean Reduction
To address this issue head-on, our team successfully enlisted 23 birthing hospitals across Colorado, representing 40% of the state’s births, to join this year-long initiative. This collaborative is dedicated to tackling both systemic and direct factors contributing to unnecessary Cesarean deliveries. On February 9th, CPCQC organized an in-person forum at St. Joe’s Hospital for the participating hospitals. This event featured a virtual keynote speech by Dr. Neel Shah and concentrated on broad strategies for promoting safe vaginal births. Discussions covered the adoption of state-based quality measures, the expansion of the midwifery workforce in rural areas, and the integration of doulas to provide continuous support to birthing individuals.
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Celebrating Tough as a Mother —3 Years of Empowering Moms in Recovery
Launched on Mother’s Day 2020, Tough as a Mother is a statewide campaign connecting pregnant and parenting mothers to substance use disorder treatment services and recovery support within their communities.
