Links to websites of groups that study or provide information about maternal morbidity and mortality
NICHD Resources
- Moms’ Mental Health Matters (MMHM)
MMHM provides information and resources to support mothers’ mental health during pregnancy and after birth, including a page on how to find help. - Pregnancy for Every Body
Pregnancy for Every Body aims to help plus-size women have healthy pregnancies. The initiative provides information and resources, including a pregnancy action plan and tips for talking with healthcare providers. - Know Your Terms
Know Your Terms provides information and a video for moms-to-be about the latest definition of full-term pregnancy. - A to Z Topics
NICHD provides information on many topics relevant to maternal morbidity and mortality, including the following:- Breastfeeding and breast milk
- Diabetes (including gestational diabetes)
- High-risk pregnancy
- HIV/AIDS
- Labor and delivery
- Obesity and overweight
- Pelvic floor disorders
- Pelvic pain
- Preeclampsia and eclampsia
- Pre-pregnancy care and prenatal care
- Pregnancy
- Pregnancy loss
- Preterm labor and birth
- Stillbirth
- Stroke
- Women’s health
- Zika
Non-NICHD Resources
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)
ACOG is an association of obstetricians, gynecologists, and other health professionals who provide healthcare to women. ACOG provides resources for women and families, including publications and a physician directory: - Black Mamas Matter Alliance
This nonprofit organization aims to change policy, cultivate research, advance care for black mothers, and shift culture to improve the health and outcomes of black women. The alliance offers ways to connect with communities, providers, and caregivers. - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
CDC’s Pregnancy page, Maternal and Infant Health page, Venous Thromboembolism (Blood Clots) and Pregnancy page, Opioid Use During Pregnancy page, Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pregnancy and Breastfeeding page, and Zika and Pregnancy page provide information for women before and during pregnancy. - Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA)
The How We Improve Maternal Health page provides information about how HRSA promotes maternal health through its programs and research. The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline provides free and confidential access to trained counselors and resources 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in English, Spanish, and more than 60 other languages. They can offer support and information related to before, during, and after pregnancy. A series of videos presents highlights from HRSA’s 2018 Maternal Mortality Summit. - National Accreta Foundation
This organization addresses preventable causes of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, including placental accreta and cesarean delivery. - National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
NAMI’s Motherhood and Your Mental Health page explains how women may feel depressed or anxious after giving birth and how health care providers can help guide women to seek care. - Office on Women’s Health (OWH)
OWH, an office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), provides a website with information on a variety of health topics for women. Learn about the stages of pregnancy, what to expect, complications, and prenatal care on the Pregnancy page. OWH also provides information on relationships and safety. - Preeclampsia Foundation
The Preeclampsia Foundation provides information for women and families affected by preeclampsia and other hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Educational materials are available in print, on DVDs, and online. A message board provides 24/7 information and support to visitors across the globe.
Please note: Links to organizations and information included on this page do not indicate endorsement from NICHD, NIH, or HHS.
NICHD Resources
- These NICHD components support and conduct research on maternal morbidity and mortality:
- Division of Extramural Research, including the Fertility and Infertility, Gynecologic Health and Disease, Maternal and Pediatric Infectious Disease, Obstetric and Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Population Dynamics, and Pregnancy and Perinatology branches
- Epidemiology Branch, Division of Population Health Research
- National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research
- NICHD/ORWH Pregnancy and Maternal Conditions That Increase Risk of Morbidity and Mortality Workshop, taking place May 19–20, 2020
- Perinatology Research Branch and other parts of the Division of Intramural Research
- These NICHD-funded and NICHD-led activities also address maternal morbidity and mortality:
- Global Network for Women’s and Children’s Health Research
This network supports and conducts clinical trials in resource-limited countries by pairing foreign and U.S. investigators, with the goal of evaluating low-cost, sustainable interventions to improve maternal and child health and simultaneously building local research capacity and infrastructure. - Human Placenta Project (HPP)
HPP is a collaborative research effort to understand the role of the placenta in health and disease. HPP aims to develop new tools to study the placenta in real time to learn how it develops and functions throughout pregnancy. - Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units (MFMU) Network
NICHD established the MFMU Network in 1986 to respond to the need for well-designed clinical trials in maternal-fetal medicine and obstetrics. The network aims to reduce maternal, fetal, and infant morbidity related to preterm birth, fetal growth abnormalities, and maternal complications and to provide the rationale for evidence-based, cost-effective obstetric practice. - Mothers Mental Health Matters (MMHM)
This initiative is designed to educate women and health care providers about the risk for depression and anxiety during and after pregnancy, the signs of these problems, and how to get help. - Pregnancy for Every Body
This initiative from NICHD’s National Child & Maternal Health Education Program educates plus-size pregnant women about healthy pregnancy and the importance of working with a healthcare provider to develop a pregnancy plan. The website also offers recommendations and communication tips to help providers guide their plus-size patients through pregnancy. - Task Force on Research Specific to Pregnant Women and Lactating Women (PRGLAC)
The 21st Century Cures Act established PRGLAC to advise the Secretary of Health and Human Services about gaps in knowledge and research on safe and effective therapies for pregnant women and lactating women. PRGLAC was tasked with identifying these gaps and reporting its findings back to the Secretary.
Non-NICHD Resources
- Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM)
This quality improvement initiative, funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration and in collaboration with the American College of OB/GYNs, supports best practices to make birth safer, improve maternal health, and save lives. The initiative offers patient safety bundles for condition-specific best practices. - American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM)
ACNM is an association of nurse midwives that provides continuing education, practice guidelines, and other information for nurse-midwives and birth care providers. ACNM’s Healthy Birth Initiative offers tools for providers to help support and promote healthy birth. - American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)
ACOG is an association of obstetricians, gynecologists, and other health professionals who provide healthcare to women. ACOG resources related to maternal morbidity and mortality include the following:- ACOG Committee Opinion: Optimizing Postpartum Care
- Chronic Hypertension in Pregnancy
- Cytomegalovirus, Parvovirus B19, Varicella Zoster, and Toxoplasmosis in Pregnancy
- Experts List Four Things Any Hospital Can Do Now to Prevent Maternal Mortality
- Gestational Hypertension and Preeclampsia
- Maternal Mortality Prevention
- Management of Depression During Pregnancy: A Report from the American Psychiatric Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (2009) (Reaffirmed 2014)
- Opioid Use and Opioid Use Disorder in Pregnancy
- Postpartum Hemorrhage
- Pregnancy and Heart Disease
- ACOG Committee Opinion: Optimizing Postpartum Care
- Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)
ASTHO provides guidance and technical assistance to U.S. public health agencies. Read the ASTHO blog post Keys to Addressing Maternal Mortality at the State Level: Consistency, Collaboration, and Data. - Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN)
AWHONN is a nonprofit organization supporting nurses who care for women, newborns, and their families. Visit AWHONN’s section on Education and Practice Resources Address the Leading Causes of Maternal Mortality. - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
CDC provides data, technical assistance, and other resources to help prevent prevent pregnancy-related deaths. CDC also conducts surveillance of pregnancy-related deaths through the Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System. CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health provides information on maternal mortality, including programs and networks working to reduce maternal mortality, and women’s reproductive health. - Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA)
HRSA works with states, communities, and healthcare facilities and providers to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality. Learn about HRSA’s work in this area. - Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH)
ORWH, part of NIH, supports and works to strengthen research on women’s health topics, including maternal morbidity and mortality. Read ORWH’s 2019 booklet Maternal Morbidity and Mortality (PDF 839 KB). - Review to Action
Review to Action, developed by the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs, the CDC Foundation, and the CDC Division of Reproductive Health, supports the state-based maternal mortality review process. - Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM)
SMFM is a membership organization for obstetricians/gynecologists who have additional formal education and training in maternal-fetal medicine. It provides guidelines, reports, and other resources, including the following:
Please note: Links to organizations and information included on this page do not indicate endorsement from NICHD, NIH, or HHS.
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