New Hampshire Perinatal Quality Collaborative

improving maternal and infant health outcomes in New Hampshire

Mission

The New Hampshire Perinatal Quality Collaborative aims to build a patient-centered, data-driven, evidence-based, sustainable infrastructure to assure that every woman/birthing person, and infant receives high quality, safe care.

We support New Hampshire birthing communities with an integrated and collaborative approach to equitably improve health outcomes before, during, and after birth. We honor each person’s unique and transformative experience of childbirth.

Vision

All birthing people feel emotionally, psychologically, and physically safe as they experience caring, respectful, inclusive, high-quality care before, during, and after birth.

Who We Are

The NHPQC represents a statewide network working collaboratively towards improving maternal and infant health care and outcomes in our state.

Our leadership structure includes a Core Co-design team (CCDT). The CCDT represents a broad range of stakeholders who met regularly to craft the NHPQC strategic plan. They include OBGYNS, doulas, a quality improvement specialist, community health workers, and parenting community members. They will continue to be the central leadership guiding the strategic direction of the NHPQC.

This graphic represents the broad stakeholders participating in our initiative.

The concentric circles within the state of NH represent the diverse group of stakeholders in each geographic region who are NHPQC members.

1. Sustainable Infrastructure That Supports Ideal Birth Conditions for Everyone

Objectives:

All NH birthing communities communicate and convene regularly with active participation by a broad range of partners to address community perinatal priorities. This includes birthing people, community organizations, hospitals and all other participants*
All improvements to advance perinatal outcomes are community-driven, integrated and collaborative, and inclusive of all voices at either the organization, community, system, or policy level
All communities build and sustain processes, systems, and polices to support improved outcomes for all birthing people
Systems and policies are designed to support all participants’* wellbeing

2. Equitable, Safe, & Inclusive Practice

Objectives:

Provide education, tools, and resources for providers, organizations and communities to increase capacity for improving respectful care, patient centeredness, psychological safety, trauma-informed care, inclusion, effective communication, and cultural competence including reducing stigma, discrimination and bias.
Support systems change to promote best practices and implementation of evidence-based care

3. Women/Birthing People Are Supported & Have the Power To Make Informed Decisions

Objectives:

Women/birthing people and family members are provided with accurate and transparent information about best practices for high quality, safe, comprehensive reproductive health care. This includes miscarriage, bereavement, reproductive autonomy, and other pivotal decision points along the perinatal journey.
Providers and systems understand, and are able to, engage in effective communication, collaborative care, coproduction and shared decision making
Women/birthing people feel supported in their autonomy to make informed decisions about all their individual choices and care
Providers and systems acknowledge and address power dynamics between providers and birthing people and create authentic and equitable partnership

4. Data and Perinatal Health Outcomes Continuously Improve

Objectives:

Co-create a system for collecting NH data related to perinatal care and outcomes within 12 months
Co-develop shared metrics and evaluate progress annually
Collectively review current data to interpret meaning, identify trends and targeted areas for improvement, and share data with all partners in communities
Co-design and implement improvement projects grounded in these findings to improve perinatal care and quality for all
Continuously share evidence-informed practices to reduce inequities and improve safety and quality