SSM Health Wisconsin Region, 2025 Quality
Increasing Maternal Morbidity & Mortality Awareness with Post-Birth Alert Bands
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2022, 817 women died of maternal causes in the United States, and more than two-thirds of the deaths were preventable. The Post-Birth Alert band initiative was started to increase awareness of post-birth warning signs that may occur after birth. The highest risk period is up to six weeks following birth. The bands offer emergency personnel a way to identify a patient who has recently given birth, similar to a medical alert bracelet that people wear for other conditions.
A program using Post-Birth Alert bands was initiated at a hospital in Florida when a patient who had recently given birth came back to the hospital emergency room with a headache and ended up having a stroke. The staff did not realize that she had recently delivered a baby, and the symptoms were much worse than they anticipated. After a debrief at the hospital, the team decided they needed a way to alert others of the post-birth warning signs that could indicate a pending emergency. They came up with the orange post-birth alert bands.
SSM hospitals in the Wisconsin region decided to adopt the program and start it at all six of their delivering hospitals in Monroe, Madison, Janesville, Baraboo, Waupun and Fond du Lac. They started handing the bands out on January 1, 2025, and continue to distribute one to each patient after delivery along with education on the post-birth warning signs to help them identify when to seek treatment.
A program using Post-Birth Alert bands was initiated at a hospital in Florida when a patient who had recently given birth came back to the hospital emergency room with a headache and ended up having a stroke. The staff did not realize that she had recently delivered a baby, and the symptoms were much worse than they anticipated. After a debrief at the hospital, the team decided they needed a way to alert others of the post-birth warning signs that could indicate a pending emergency. They came up with the orange post-birth alert bands.
SSM hospitals in the Wisconsin region decided to adopt the program and start it at all six of their delivering hospitals in Monroe, Madison, Janesville, Baraboo, Waupun and Fond du Lac. They started handing the bands out on January 1, 2025, and continue to distribute one to each patient after delivery along with education on the post-birth warning signs to help them identify when to seek treatment.
