Oklahoma Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative

05/02/2026

May is Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month

Mental health matters during pregnancy and after delivery, and support is available.

The Health Resources and Services Administration National Maternal Mental Health Hotline (📞 1-833-TLC-MAMA) offers free, confidential support 24/7 in English and Spanish.

You don’t have to be the one struggling to call.
If you’re worried about a friend, patient, or loved one who is pregnant or postpartum, you can reach out for guidance and support.

• Call or text: 1-833-TLC-MAMA
• Chat via website available
• Real people. Real help. No judgment.

Reaching out early can make a difference. Please share to your network to spread the word.

05/01/2026

OPQIC recently supported an AWHONN Obstetric Patient Safety (OPS) Workshop hosted by Ascension St. John Medical Center, bringing together 30 participants from 8 hospitals for hands-on training in obstetric emergencies.

Facilitated by OPQIC’s Katie Morgan and led by instructors Greta Morgan, Christina Ney, and Tina Smith, the workshop also welcomed guest instructor Melinda Thomas from Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas. Three instructor candidates participated as well, helping to build future training capacity and expand reach across the region.

Hosting at Ascension St. John Medical Center provided a central, high-volume clinical environment that supported strong participation, cross-hospital collaboration, and expansion of future training capacity.

A sincere thank you to our instructors—Greta Morgan, Christina Ney, Tina Smith, and Melinda Thomas—for their expertise and commitment to advancing obstetric safety.

This marked the final OPS workshop of the spring season. We look forward to hosting additional workshops in the near future as we continue to strengthen clinical readiness and support safe, high-quality care for mothers and babies across Oklahoma.

05/01/2026

Preeclampsia isn’t just about high blood pressure, and it doesn’t always look the way people expect. Preeclampsia can develop during pregnancy or even after delivery, sometimes with subtle or unexpected symptoms.

What to know:
• It can happen without obvious high blood pressure at first
• It can occur days to weeks postpartum
• It affects multiple organs, not just blood pressure

Prevention matters:
For some patients, low-dose aspirin is recommended during pregnancy to help reduce the risk of preeclampsia. Talk with your provider about whether it’s right for you.

04/30/2026

Thanks, Discover, for sharing the significant need for research on preeclampsia.

"As early as 5,000 years ago, ancient scholars in China, Egypt, Greece, and India all wrote about eclampsia, according to a study in the Journal of Reproductive Immunology. And in 1916, one researcher called it the “disease of theories” because there were many possible causes.

“There is no single cause, but research has uncovered that there are multiple things at play,” Danielle Babcock Sapienza, the education and support manager for the Preeclampsia Foundation, told Discover.

Even today, technological advances have enabled better detection, but there still isn’t a cure, and much remains unknown."

Read the article here: https://www.discovermagazine.com/preeclampsia-has-existed-for-roughly-5-000-years-but-there-is-still-no-cure-why-is-it-called-the-disease-of-theories-49009

04/30/2026

New research is putting Oklahoma at the center of improving how care teams work together during childbirth 👇

A recent study published in examined how was implemented across 23 Oklahoma hospitals, highlighting what actually drives successful adoption of this model. Findings showed that factors like strong implementation teams, leadership commitment, and hospital culture were significantly linked to whether TeamBirth huddles were used in real clinical care.

Even more, prior research from Oklahoma hospitals has shown that when TeamBirth is used, patients report higher trust in their care teams and greater autonomy in decision-making. This kind of real-world, statewide implementation research matters. It moves beyond theory and shows how teamwork, communication, and culture directly shape patient experience.

👏 Thank you to the Oklahoma hospitals that participated in this work and continue to lead the way in advancing safe, patient-centered maternity care.

Read the full publication here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12913-026-14319-2

04/29/2026

Join us for Emergency Infant Feeding Support Training and gain the skills needed to protect infant health during disasters.

You’ll learn:
• How to support breastfeeding in crisis settings
• Safe formula preparation when resources are limited
• The role of responders and community partners
• Practical, real-world strategies you can apply immediately

Whether you’re in public health, healthcare, emergency response, or community support—this training is essential.
👉 Register now: https://ow.ly/6jgO50YOKmp
Spots are limited!

04/27/2026

A new documentary aims to raise awareness about postpartum depression, highlight available treatments, and reduce stigma.

04/26/2026

More refusals for Vitamin K for newborns. See below for how to educate parents from the AAP.

04/25/2026

Support for delayed pushing….

Active second-stage duration under 15 minutes in spontaneous vaginal deliveries with delayed pushing - Distribution of the duration of expulsive efforts in the study population (n=10,565) https://ow.ly/saCH50YOVbB

04/24/2026

State Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRCs), multidisciplinary teams that review pregnancy-related deaths, found that substance use disorder was the leading cause of mental health–related deaths in 2022, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. Deaths related to mental health conditions increased from 22.7% in 2021 to 27.7% in 2022. Among these deaths in 2022, 51% were related to substance use disorder, followed by 32.9% due to depressive disorders.

Find all the stats related to maternal mortality here: https://www.cdc.gov/maternal-mortality/php/data-research/mmrc/index.html?cove-tab=3&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_UYdgETlnLB8UITQuM9gFcfwhTFs_XqUfuVDBmMpmRvGXBB80WEJyRr2vagXptzVaEGv1O2DI1ET6ZGBeC-M-uzP-eFw&_hsmi=415421048

04/23/2026

🎉 Congratulations to our newest CNM Loan Forgiveness Award Recipient! 🎉

We are exited to support Amaya Johnson, who is completing her Student Nurse-Midwife education and training at Baylor University. Through the CNM Loan Forgiveness, The Midwifery Project is proud to help ease the financial burden of her education as she continues developing the skills needed to provide compassionate, evidence-based care to Oklahoma families.

After graduation, Amaya plans to serve the Tulsa community at Innovations Family Wellness, Inc., helping strengthen our maternal health workforce and expand access to midwifery care.

💛 Join us in congratulating her as she continues her journey into community midwifery.

Funding for this award is made possible through the generous support of the George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF).

⭐If this matters to you, please follow, like and share.⭐

04/22/2026

OPQIC was proud to support an Obstetric Patient Safety (OPS) Workshop hosted by Beaver County Memorial Hospital bringing together 21 participants from 6 hospitals for hands-on, evidence-based training.

Facilitated by ’s Katie Morgan and led by expert instructors Greta Morgan, Christina Ney, and Tina Smith, the workshop focused on strengthening team response, communication, and clinical management during obstetric emergencies.

Hosting trainings like this in rural counties is especially important, where access to maternity care can be limited. In Beaver County, the nearest hospital providing obstetric services is approximately an hour away. In these settings, local teams must be prepared to respond quickly and effectively, often managing critical situations before transfer is possible. Building local capacity through collaborative, skills-based education helps ensure safer outcomes for mothers and babies, no matter where they live.