New Resources for Identifying and Treating Obstetric Emergencies

MEMBERS ONLY BENEFIT. 

SEMPA and our members have worked with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) to develop and launch new tools and resources to enhance readiness among EMPAs to identify and treat obstetric emergencies that occur during pregnancy, during delivery, and up to 12 months postpartum. Please note that more than half of pregnancy-related deaths happen seven days to 12 months after pregnancy ends.[1]

Complications from pregnancy can happen during pregnancy, during delivery, and up to 12 months after the end of pregnancy. Patients who develop signs or symptoms of serious pregnancy-related complications and conditions may seek emergency care in nonobstetric settings including emergency medical services (EMS)/911, hospital-based emergency department, standalone emergency room, or urgent care facility.

State maternal mortality review committees, which gather detailed information to better understand the drivers of maternal deaths, have reported missed opportunities to identify pregnancy-related emergencies in nonobstetric settings. In response, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched a multiyear partnership to develop tools and resources to enhance readiness in the identification and management of pregnancy-related emergencies. These tools have been created with specialty organizations and subject matter experts for use by emergency department, urgent care, and EMS/911 practitioners.

As part of this initiative, ACOG has created a tool kit to help your organization promote awareness about the topic of maternal mortality and the tools and resources available. In this tool kit, you’ll find the following resources to assist you in sharing this new information with your network.

[1] Trost SL, Beauregard J, Njie F, et al. Pregnancy-Related Deaths: Data from Maternal Mortality Review Committees in 36 US States, 2017–2019. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Department of Health and Human Services; 2022.