Pomelo Care’s Post

Maternity care provider Pomelo Care lands $46m Series B funding Pomelo Care Founder and CEO Marta Bralic Kerns stated, “We’ve long known what works to reduce maternal and infant complications. The questions have always been: can you identify the patients who are at highest risk, can you deeply engage them in care to drive uptake of the prevention strategies we know work, and can you do it in the highest risk populations with the most limited access to care? This data demonstrates that we absolutely can. And with this additional funding, we’ll have the opportunity to scale our care model to more pregnant people across the country.” - https://lnkd.in/dwS3t4f5 #marternitycare #hospitals #patientcare

📢 "Nothing's Changed": A Call for Urgent Action Reflecting on the recent reports by Sands - baby loss charity, Tommy's, and The Royal College of Midwives (RCM), it’s clear that the state of maternity and neonatal care in the UK hasn’t significantly shifted in the positive direction and still demands improvement. 👉 We cannot ignore that 13 babies die daily in the UK due to pregnancy and neonatal complications. The fact that Black babies are over twice as likely to be stillborn compared to white babies and that babies in deprived areas face double the risk is unacceptable. These figures underscore the deep-rooted ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in our healthcare system. 👉 The reports reveal nearly half of maternity services in England are rated as “inadequate” or “requires improvement” by the CQC. Reproductive health receives a mere 2% of public and charity health-related research funding. This severe underinvestment highlights a systemic disregard for maternal and neonatal health, with stillbirth and neonatal mortality rates stagnating, far from the 2025 targets. 👉 Addressing these issues requires more than just incremental changes. We need a bold, national strategy that extends beyond 2025. This strategy must: 1️⃣Renew Commitment: Expand national maternity safety goals to tackle inequalities. 2️⃣Increase Funding: Secure sustained financial support for transformative improvements. 3️⃣Enhance Staffing: Develop robust retention strategies and improve staffing levels across all maternity and neonatal services. Last month, The Royal College of Midwives launched a short guidebook on assessing social complexities during maternity care, known as the Maternity Disadvantage Assessment Tool (MatDAT), which will support midwives in their delivery of care.  Read the full Saving Babies’ Lives 2024 Report 👉 https://bit.ly/45AUomp Read about the Maternity Disadvantage Assessment Tool 👉 https://bit.ly/4biErSM In the spirit of one of our favourite poems, Tatamkhulu Afrika’s ‘Nothing’s Changed’, we reflect on the unchanged state of maternity and neonatal care in the UK. This urgent need requires the continued account of patients’ experiences, community around maternal health innovation and Systems Change. #SavingBabiesLives #MaternityCare #Innovation #HealthcareInequality #Ellescope

Maternity care has been underpaid for the 35 years I have worked in the field. I was always told the thought was that since women made the healthcare decisions for the family, great maternity experiences would help them decide to bring their families to the facility for all of their care. This would bring in the high revenue procedures. This thought process has made little sense and has never worked. Maternity care has become more expensive and malpractice rates have increased exponentially annually whether or not a claim is made. Providers can no longer keep the lights on, pay staff and continue to pay malpractice insurance. Now fuzzy state laws are creating unsafe working environments that threaten the license and possibly be criminally prosecuted for practicing within the standards of care. Many OB units large and small have closed in both cities and rural communities over the past few years leaving many pregnant people with at least a 30 minute, but often a 45-60 minute drive to the nearest delivery unit. These are several reasons why we will continue to have worsening maternal and infant mortality rates until society values evidence based care for pregnant people and infants. This also means that physicians and midwives are valued by payers for skills at rates as high as other specialists. The resolutions are simple, but not easy and will take all of us to make the change. Insurance carriers won’t change until we make it happen. Your local, state and federal legislators need to be reminded that they work for you, not the lobbyists. Your power is with your vote in every election at every level of government. I continue to hope society has the courage to make the necessary changes.

The heartbreaking closure of maternity wards across the US, as exposed in this article is a symptom of a much larger crisis. We have some of the worst maternal morbidity and mortality rates in the developed world, and there's an elephant in the room we can't ignore any longer: money. Look, most OBGYNs don't go into this field chasing riches. We deliver babies, fight for women's health – it's a calling. But the reality is, the job is grueling. The hours are brutal, the toll on our families and bodies immense. At some point, even the most passionate among us recognize that dedication doesn't pay the bills. The current reimbursement rates for OBGYN care are simply unsustainable. Hospitals can't keep labor and delivery units open, and qualified professionals are leaving the field in droves. This projected shortage of OBGYNs can only worsen the already dismal outcomes for mothers and babies. We need to stop pretending money isn't a factor. As a nation, do we truly value women's health? If so, it's time to show it. We need reimbursement rates that reflect the incredible responsibility OBGYNs carry and incentivize quality care. We need maternity wards to stay open, staffed by passionate professionals who can deliver the care our mothers, daughters, sisters, and friends deserve. #maternalmortality #womenshealth #healthcarecosts #OBGYNshortage #womenshealthcare https://lnkd.in/g7wYBhP9

Interesting read.

What are maternity care deserts, why are they growing and how do we solve the maternity care desert crisis? Read OBHG's latest industry insight about this concerning obstetric topic. https://lnkd.in/e_zK87Ki #MaternityCareDeserts #AccessToCare

In my latest passle I consider the new guidance on maternity triage which aims to improve patient safety in maternity care #maternitycare #patientsafety https://lnkd.in/ebKrfBE6

It's certainly not a secret that part of the maternity care crisis in the US is associated with the loss of obstetrical services in more than half of our rural hospitals. Mother Goose Health helps birthing individuals living in such communities to access key maternity care services without having to travel to every visit. With the Mother Goose Health unified maternity care ecosystem, patients, providers, and entities at risk for the cost of maternity care can be assured that that KPIs are met and the loop is closed on necessary antepartum and postpartum services. Come join us and learn how we share risk and deliver performance! https://lnkd.in/gFv34Fpb

"The study presents data on several key factors including levels of maternity care access and maternity care deserts by county, distance to birthing hospitals and availability of family planning services." #maternalchildhealth #maternitycare #healthcare #infantmortality #maternalmortality https://lnkd.in/er4gkrTp

This should indeed be a wake up call for all developing countries. Maternal care IS a key part of primary care for all reasons mentioned. Among the 3 conditions listed, ultrasound technology should be understood as a key resource for maternal care (and thus essential for primary care) as it reduces the number of emergencies at birth and improves prenatal care as a whole.