Oklahoma Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative

June 1- 8 is ! The week is more than an awareness initiative, it’s a movement to transform the conversation around high-risk pregnancy care.

What is a high-risk pregnancy? A pregnancy can be classified as high-risk for many reasons, a chronic condition like diabetes or high blood pressure, a complication that develops during pregnancy like preeclampsia or preterm labor, or concerns about fetal health like a genetic disorder or birth defect.

Learn more at smfm.org/hrpaw

📱🤱 New Resource for Oklahoma Families: The Oklahoma Breastfeeding App is Here!
The Oklahoma Breastfeeding Resource Center has launched a FREE mobile app for both iPhone and Android users, making breastfeeding support and education available right at your fingertips.

Whether you're a pregnant mom, breastfeeding mom, dad, partner, or support person, the app offers:
✅ Breastfeeding education and videos
✅ Milestone tracking and check-ins
✅ Access to breastfeeding resources and guidance
✅ Direct connection to the Oklahoma Breastfeeding Hotline via call or text
✅ Telehealth scheduling options
✅ Family support services and community resources
✅ English and Spanish language options

The app is designed to provide trusted, evidence-based information and support throughout pregnancy and the breastfeeding journey, helping Oklahoma families get answers when and where they need them.

📲 Search "OK BF" on your app store and explore a wealth of resources designed to support healthy beginnings for Oklahoma babies and families.

A new national Maternal Mental Health Report Card from the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health shows there is still significant work to do to support mothers and families across the country. In 2026, Oklahoma received a grade of D, while the overall U.S. grade was a C. No states earned an A.

The report highlights ongoing gaps in maternal mental health screening, treatment access, provider availability, and parental support systems. The U.S. also received an F in the new “Parental Support” domain, which examined policies such as paid parental leave and childcare support.

Maternal mental health conditions impact 1 in 5 mothers, yet many women never receive the care they need. Continued investment in screening, provider access, community-based support, and postpartum care is critical to improving outcomes for women, babies, and families.

Oklahoma has made progress in some areas, including postpartum Medicaid extension and prioritization of maternal mental health within statewide quality improvement efforts, but the report makes clear there is more work ahead.

"There is broad consensus that measuring severe maternal morbidity (SMM) is critical to improving maternal health. Despite 50 years of effort by national, international, and professional organizations, determining the ideal SMM measure remains a work in progress. Various SMM measures have been proposed and evolved to fulfill different purposes: population surveillance, hospital-level trends and comparisons, and case reviews for quality improvement. This review examines definitions, strengths, limitations and challenges in data collection for the most used SMM measures. Also discussed are proposals to expand these measures to include postpartum complications, mental health, and substance use disorders. Regardless of the challenges with definition and data collection, SMM measures are widely used and have become integral to improvement efforts at hospital, state, and national levels in the United States. We anticipate that available measures will continue to evolve to meet the needs of hospital systems and national surveillance moving forward."

To learn more, read the full Narrative Review at: https://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/abstract/2026/06000/measuring_severe_maternal_morbidity__current.9.aspx

May 22 is World Preeclampsia Day, a reminder that hypertensive disorders of pregnancy remain one of the leading causes of maternal and infant illness and death worldwide.

Preeclampsia can happen during pregnancy or postpartum, and symptoms are not always recognized right away. Warning signs can include severe headache, vision changes, swelling, shortness of breath, upper abdominal pain, and high blood pressure.

Awareness, early recognition, patient education, and timely treatment save lives.

Take a moment to watch and share this important video to help spread awareness:
https://youtu.be/P9GxHQzwIzk?si=eH92tm3FKs3lC_0q

7 Symptoms Every Pregnant Woman Should Know Preeclampsia is a life-threatening disorder of pregnancy related to high blood pressure in the second and third trimesters. Every expecting mother should kno...

Congratulations to McAlester Regional Health Center for earning from Ariadne Labs Unravel Healthcare!

Recognition signifies that a hospital has demonstrated sustained implementation of the TeamBirth model and a strong commitment to patient-centered maternity care. Recognized hospitals consistently use structured TeamBirth huddles to strengthen communication between patients, nurses, midwives, and physicians during labor and delivery.

Recognition highlights a hospital’s dedication to:
• Supporting shared decision-making and patient autonomy
• Strengthening teamwork and communication
• Creating more consistent and respectful maternity care experiences
• Improving trust between patients and care teams
• Sustaining evidence-based quality improvement practices

Research published in the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing found that patients who experienced TeamBirth huddles during labor reported significantly higher trust and autonomy in decision-making during childbirth. The Oklahoma-based study included more than 6,500 patients across participating hospitals statewide.

As a rural hospital serving southeastern Oklahoma, McAlester Regional’s recognition reflects an important commitment to advancing high-quality maternity care close to home for Oklahoma families.

McAlester Regional is now Oklahoma’s 11th TeamBirth Recognized Hospital.


“Addressing Perinatal Mental Health Conditions in Obstetric Settings” is a free training designed to help obstetric care clinicians identify, assess, treat, and follow up with patients experiencing perinatal mental health conditions. The course includes practical guidance on screening, su***de risk assessment, treatment pathways, and integrating mental health care into obstetric settings.

The course offers up to 2 CME credits and is available for physicians, nurses, APPs, trainees, and allied health professionals. Access the course here: https://www.acog.org/education-and-events/emodules/addressing-perinatal-mental-health-conditions-in-obstetric-settings

What are we reading? The entire June issue of the Obstetrics & Gynecology - Green Journal is dedicated to issues surrounding maternal mortality and morbidity.

"Inequalities in severe maternal morbidity (SMM) and mortality in high-income countries are persistent, socially patterned, and evident across multiple dimensions, including socioeconomic deprivation, race and ethnicity, and migration status. These inequalities are not fully explained by individual clinical risk factors but arise from the interaction of structural disadvantage, intermediate social conditions, and health systems. Many determinants of risk are established before pregnancy; however, variation in access to care, quality of care, and responsiveness to symptoms during pregnancy and childbirth can either mitigate or exacerbate vulnerability. Identifying social and structural determinants, ensuring equitable access to care, providing culturally responsive care, and promoting timely, unbiased clinical decision-making are essential components of clinician efforts to reduce inequalities in SMM and mortality."

Read the article for FREE at: https://buff.ly/aoRKOVQ

The Oklahoma Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative team was honored to attend the Annual Meeting in New Orleans, May 13–15, joining perinatal quality leaders from across the country to collaborate, share innovations, and advance maternal and infant health outcomes.

OPQIC was proud to contribute to several national presentations during the meeting:
• Denise Cole, MS, RNC-NIC, C-ONQS, Katie Morgan BSN, RN and Barbara O'Brien, MS, RN presented “Navigating a Statewide Path Forward: Advancing Perinatal Quality Through Collaborative Perinatal Nursing Education,” highlighting the impact of perinatal boot camp and the continued growth of the Oklahoma Perinatal Nurses Forum (OPNF).
• Barbara O’Brien also served as a panelist for the plenary session “Resilient by Design: Sustainable Futures for PQCs Across Institutional Models,” joining leaders from Virginia, Nebraska, New York, and Minnesota to discuss strategies for sustaining and strengthening Perinatal Quality Collaboratives in an evolving healthcare landscape.
• Katie Morgan participated in the panel “Evaluating Statewide Obstetric Patient Safety Training: Cross-PQC Collaboration, Early Impact Measurement, and Lessons for Sustainability,” sharing lessons learned through statewide obstetric patient safety education and collaborative quality improvement efforts.
• OPQIC also presented a poster, “Expanding Access to Midwifery Care in Oklahoma: Addressing Maternity Care Gaps through The Midwifery Project,” highlighting ongoing efforts to strengthen Oklahoma’s maternity care workforce and improve access to care in underserved communities. OPQIC's Priscilla McFolling leads this important work in our state.

We are grateful for the opportunity to represent Oklahoma on a national stage and to learn alongside partners dedicated to improving care for mothers and babies across the country.

A new report from highlights ongoing racial and ethnic disparities in health care outcomes, access, and quality across Oklahoma. While Oklahoma showed less severe disparities than some neighboring Southwest states, the report found major gaps remain, particularly for Hispanic, Black, and AIAN populations. Hispanic Oklahomans experienced some of the lowest overall health system performance rankings nationally, while disparities in preventive care, insurance coverage, and maternal and infant health outcomes continue to impact communities across the state. Addressing these gaps will require continued collaboration, community engagement, and targeted efforts to improve equitable access to quality care for all Oklahomans.

Read the full report: https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2026/apr/commonwealth-fund-2026-state-health-disparities-report