Perinatal Quality Collaboratives

Perinatal Quality Collaboratives work at the state level to improve the quality of care for mothers and babies.

Perinatal Quality Collaboratives (PQCs) are state or multistate networks of teams. They work to improve the quality of care for mothers and babies. PQC members identify health care processes in need of improvement. They suggest the best available methods to make changes as quickly as possible.

PQCs contribute to important improvements in health care and outcomes for mothers and babies, such as:

Reducing health care–associated bloodstream infections in newborns.

Reducing severe pregnancy complications associated with high blood pressure and hemorrhage.

Screening and treatment for mothers with substance use disorder and affected newborns.

Building connections between hospitals and communities to improve factors that impact health.

Addressing maternal mental health care.

Ensuring use of mother's milk for all infants.

Most states currently have active collaboratives, and others are in development. Visit State Perinatal Quality Collaboratives to view a list of state-based PQCs.

CDC is currently funding 34 state-based PQCs. This supports the capabilities of PQCs to improve the quality of perinatal care for mothers and babies in their states.

PQCs implement initiatives with the goal of reducing disparities in outcomes and enhancing equitable care for all.

CDC and the March of Dimes launched the National Network of Perinatal Quality Collaboratives (NNPQC). The organization supports state-based PQCs in making measurable improvements in statewide health care and health outcomes for mothers and babies.

In 2022, CDC awarded the National Institute for Children's Health Quality (NICHQ) to serve as the coordinating center for the NNPQC. NICHQ coordinates NNPQC activities, including providing support, mentoring, and resources for PQCs.

CDC worked with experts to develop a resource guide to help develop and advance the work of state PQCs. Topics in the guide include starting a statewide collaborative, launching initiatives, data and measurement, sustainability, and more.

This guide is an online resource that includes links to other useful resources for perinatal quality improvement work.

Developing and Sustaining Perinatal Quality Collaboratives—A Resource Guide for States

Below are perinatal quality improvement efforts from state-based PQCs supported by CDC.

The Illinois Perinatal Quality Collaborative (ILPQC) Success Story—reduce severe pregnancy complications from high blood pressure.

The Perinatal Quality Collaborative of North Carolina (PQCNC) Success Story—reduce infections in neonatal intensive care units.

The Perinatal-Neonatal Quality Improvement Network of Massachusetts (PNQIN) Success Story—improve breast milk use in neonatal ICUs.

The Illinois Perinatal Quality Collaborative (ILPQC) Success Story—improve accuracy of birth certificate data.

The Ohio Perinatal Quality Collaborative (OPQC) Success Story—improve birth registry data, prematurity outcomes, number of full-term babies.

The New York State Perinatal Quality Collaborative (NYSPQC) Success Story—reduce scheduled C-sections and induced labor with no medical need before 39 weeks.

The California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) Success Story—a data center for hospitals to reduce severe pregnancy complications.

CDC hosted webinars for PQCs to share strategies related to their development and specific PQC initiatives. Recordings of previous webinars are archived and available for viewing.

New webinars are provided by the National Network of Perinatal Quality Collaboratives. To find out about future webinars, join your PQC colleagues on the PQC Portal.

The following articles describe outcomes of PQC activities. You may view the abstracts for these articles using the U.S. National Library of Medicine's PubMed service.

Advances in Maternal Fetal Medicine: Perinatal Quality Collaboratives Working Together to Improve Maternal Outcomes.

Ethnic Disparities in the Care of Opioid-Exposed Newborns in Colorado Birthing Hospitals.

Improving the Timely Delivery of Antihypertensive Medication for Severe Perinatal Hypertension in Pregnancy and Postpartum.

Hospital Quality Improvement Interventions, Statewide Policy Initiatives, and Rates of Cesarean Delivery for Nulliparous, Term, Singleton, Vertex Births in California.

Leveraging the Massachusetts Perinatal Quality Collaborative to Address the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Diverse Populations.

The Colorado Hospitals Substance Exposed Newborn Quality Improvement Collaborative: Standardization of Care for Opioid-Exposed Newborns Shortens Length of Stay and Reduces Number of Infants Requiring Opiate Therapy.

A Quality Improvement Initiative to Implement the Eat, Sleep, Console Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome Care Tool in Massachusetts' PNQIN Collaborative.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Maternal and Infant Outcomes Among Opioid-Exposed Mother-Infant Dyads in Massachusetts (2017-2019).

State-Based Healthcare-Associated Infection (HAI) Prevention Activities—states' progress in reducing HAIs and CDC assistance to support state efforts to prevent HAIs.

Enhancing Reviews and Surveillance to Eliminate Maternal Mortality (ERASE MM)—supports agencies and organizations that coordinate and manage Maternal Mortality Review Committees.

National Network of Perinatal Quality Collaboratives (NNPQC)—National Institute for Children’s Health Quality (NICHQ) coordinates support, mentoring, resources, and activities.

Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM)— a national, cross-sector commitment designed to support best practices that make birth safer, improve maternal health outcomes and save lives.