Each year, Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center helps bring 4,500 babies into the world and provides specialized newborn care through its high-level neonatal intensive care unit. Building on its commitment to maternal health, in September 2024, Shady Grove Medical Center participated in the B.I.R.T.H. Equity Maryland: Breaking Inequality Reimagining Transformative Healthcare program, aiming to reduce pregnancy-related mortality, morbidity, and inequity among Black patients. The program focused on training Shady Grove’s emergency care teams to better identify pregnancy-related complications and address potential biases in their treatment. Key activities included improving hospital protocols, providing staff with tools to communicate concerns about patient well-being, and ensuring that at least 80% of the team completed six learning steps. These steps cover recognizing early warning signs of gynecological complications, using teamwork and communication strategies, identifying and mitigating biases, and creating systems that support safe care.

Why We Did It

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center participated in this project to address a serious health disparity affecting maternal outcomes for non-Hispanic Black women in the United States. These women are three to four times more likely than White women to die from pregnancy-related complications, even after accounting for income, education and other factors. Systemic racism, bias and discrimination contribute to this problem, and the United States has the highest maternal death rate among developed countries. By focusing on these disparities, Adventist HealthCare aims to improve maternal and infant health for all families in our community.

Topics: Community Care|Health Equity and Access to Care|Maternal Health Care