Soon-to-be parents and their babies deserve the healthiest start possible. But maternal and infant deaths in the United States are still higher than any other developed nation, while black women are dying at twice the rate of white women. Public health is taking on these issues through several promising programs.

Perinatal Quality Collaboratives (PQCs) are networks of multidisciplinary teams made up of clinicians, providers, public health leaders, patients, families and others who work together on plans to improve health outcomes for pregnant women and infants in the U.S. Every state, as well as Washington, DC, has a PQC that meets to identify health care processes and clinical practices that could be strengthened and then begins to implement quality improvement (QI) initiatives, using the best available methods to effect change as quickly as possible. QI initiatives advance evidence-based clinical practices within health care centers and systems across states and across the nation. Learn more about how PQCs are working together to improve maternal outcomes.

The CDC Foundation, in partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is also helping PQCs learn how to evaluate their QI initiatives to make sure they’re meeting their goals. The webinar series below is designed to advise PQC staff and partners on how to perform evaluations, plan for and implement evaluations and ensure the findings are put into practice to improve QI initiatives.

CDC-funded PQCs can also register for targeted group assistance through office hours.