Leveling the Landscape: Action to Outcome was presented as the keynote address by Dr. Paola Gehrig on October 21, 2024, at the 8th Annual VNPC Summit in Wintergreen, Virginia. Dr. Gehrig is a gynecologic oncologist, the Norman Thornton, Jr. Professor, and Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Virginia.
The presentation centered around the various dyads that exist in the maternal and infant health space. The importance of improving the postpartum experience, also called the fourth trimester, was a recurring theme throughout the presentation. Dr. Gehrig highlighted the need for improvement, given that more than half of pregnancy-related maternal deaths occur after delivery due to preventable causes such as lack of follow-up and undiagnosed mental health disorders.
Identified areas of opportunity included shared decision-making between the provider-patient dyad, enhanced collaboration across the care team, and implementing evidence-based practices such as postpartum depression screening and universal SUD screening. Dr. Gehrig also mentioned the resources shared by the Alliance for Innovation of Maternal and Infant Health, which include bundles to improve certain aspects of maternal and infant health, such as SUD readiness, prevention, and response. To close, Dr. Gehrig emphasized the importance of engaging doulas and community health workers to ensure health systems can get community resources to those who need them.
