Maternal and Child Health

Listening to Mothers in California is a statewide, population-based survey of women who gave birth in 2016. Led by the National Partnership for Women and Families, the project was funded by the California HealthCare Foundation and the Yellow Chair Foundation. This collection features a variety of survey-related resources available on the CHCF website:

Cesarean sections (C-sections) can be important and even lifesaving in some circumstances. However, studies also have found that overuse of C-sections may result in harm and poor outcomes for mothers and babies. In the last few years across California, many health care providers, payers, purchasers, and policymakers have been working to reduce the unwarranted variation in low-risk, first-birth C-sections. A key goal is to ensure that C-sections are only being performed when they are absolutely needed.

Building quality improvement interdisciplinary teams where a culture of safety and quality is part of their core DNA is critical to mitigating challenges faced by hospitals as they work to sustain quality improvements and achieve a culture of continuous quality improvement. The California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) is partnering with Blue Shield of California to develop and implement a program aimed at sustained maternal quality improvement (QI) by providing hospital teams with the necessary knowledge and tools.