State-based perinatal quality collaboratives: Pursuing improvements in perinatal health outcomes for all mothers and newborns

State-based perinatal quality collaboratives (SPQC) have become increasingly widespread in the United States. Whereas the first was launched in 1997, today over 40 states have SPQCs that are actively working or are in development. Despite great variability in the structure and function of SPQCs among states, many have seen their efforts lead to significant improvements in the care of mothers and newborns. Clinical topics targeted by SPQCs have included nosocomial infection in newborns, human milk use, neonatal abstinence syndrome, early term deliveries without a medical indication, maternal hemorrhage, and maternal hypertension, among others. While each SPQC uses approaches suited to its own context, several themes are common to the goals of all SPQCs, including developing obstetric and neonatal partnerships; including families as partners; striving for participation by all providers; utilizing rigorous quality improvement science; maintaining close partnerships with public health departments; and seeking population-level improvements in health outcomes.