Maternal & Child Health Advisory Task Force (MCHATF)
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Maternal Health Perinatal Sub-Committee
MDH was awarded a 5-year grant from HRSA through its State Maternal Health Innovation Program to create a state-led maternal health task force that would bring the voices of key leaders and pregnant and postpartum individuals together to implement an Innovation for Maternal Outcomes in Minnesota (I-MOM) project. The purpose of the project is to support Minnesota’s capacity to improve maternal health and address maternal health disparities through quality services, a skilled workforce, enhanced data quality and capacity, and innovative programming that aims to reduce maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity. MDH will also establish a maternal health advisory group under the existing MCH Advisory Task Force, and it will be responsible for creating Minnesota’s first Maternal Health Strategic Plan.
At its December 10, 2022 meeting, the Chair established a new Task Force subcommittee, the I-MOM Maternal Health Task Force to serve as MDH’s maternal health advisory group. The charge of the I-MOM subcommittee is to develop and participate in the implementation of a statewide perinatal health strategic plan. The maternal health strategic plan will promote innovative program development, identify policy needs, and other activities to address and support improved maternal health outcomes.
The I-MOM subcommittee will be co-led by an MCH Advisory Task Force member and community leader(s). I-MOM will provide regular updates to the full Task Force on its work, which is expected to continue through September 29, 2027. This work will also support key issues identified by the Task Force in the Commissioners report, and its work will be added to the Task Force workplan in the future.
Stillbirth Advisory Workgroup
In 2015, the State Legislature passed language which encouraged the Maternal and Child Health Advisory Task Force (MCHATF) to "conduct a review of the current methods of data collection on stillbirths, prenatal protocols to prevent stillbirths, available supports for families who have experienced a stillbirth, and any other information related to stillbirths that the task force deems appropriate.” In response, the Maternal and Child Health Advisory Task Force created a Stillbirth Advisory Workgroup to investigate the issue. Membership in the workgroup composed of a broad range of stakeholders, including advocates, public health professionals, families who had experienced a stillbirth, and medical and health care providers.
To execute its legislative charge, the Stillbirth Workgroup met eight times between July and November 2016 to discuss topics of concern, with follow-up meetings in 2017 to prioritize its recommendations. The recommendations below represent the Stillbirth Workgroup’s final list of four actionable recommendations:
- Track and publish Minnesota stillbirth data in the annual MDH Vital Statistics Report by sociodemographic information such as hospital of birth, county of birth, gestational age, and infant, maternal, and paternal race/ethnicity.
- Establish a service like the former Minnesota SID Center that provides support, information, and assistance to families who have experienced a stillbirth.
- Reinstate ongoing Fetal and Infant Mortality Reviews (FIMR) to provide information about the circumstances and underlying contributing factors associated with fetal deaths/stillbirths.
- Conduct a root cause analysis on every fetal death that aims to inform how the 39-week policy is being implemented, rapid appeals process when medically indicated deliveries prior to 39 weeks of gestation are denied, and shared patient-provider decision making about scheduled deliveries prior to 39 weeks of gestation including all relevant fetal, maternal, and newborn risks and benefits.
The workgroup’s key findings, final recommendations, and information on next steps have been compiled in the Stillbirth Advisory Workgroup Report (PDF).
Work Plans
The purpose of the MCH Advisory Task Force’s work plan is to develop and conduct activities resulting in recommendations to the Commissioner of Health and MDH on priority MCH issues according to statutory charge, not addressed by any other MDH advisory group, and utilizing members’ expertise and experience.