Severe Hypertension in Pregnancy
Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HPD's) are a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. Nearly 60% of the associated complications from maternal hypertension are preventable with the implementation of maternal safety bundles aimed at improving the recognition and prompt treatment of severe hypertension.
Nebraska is a proud member of the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM). AIM is a national data-driven maternal safety and quality improvement initiative based on proven implementation approaches to improving maternal safety and outcomes in the U.S. AIM’s goal is to eliminate preventable maternal mortality and severe morbidity across the United States.
NPQIC launched the severe maternal hypertension initiative in April 2019 with 28 hospital teams participating. Hospital teams are working to improve outcomes through increased use of appropriate medical management of severe hypertension, debriefs, and discharge education and follow-up with new onset severe maternal hypertension cases.
Maternal Hypertension Resources
New: NPQIC Timely Treatment Fact Sheet (8/2024)
AIM Severe Hypertension in Pregnancy Patient Safety Bundle
AIM Obstetric Emergency Readiness Resource Kit (2023)
ACOG Safe Motherhood Initiative
ACOG Practice Bulletin #767: Emergent Therapy for Acute-Onset Severe Hypertension During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period
ACOG Practice Bulletin #203: Chronic Hypertension in Pregnancy
ACOG Practice Bulletin #222: Gestational Hypertension and Preeclampsia
SMFM Special Statement (Feb 2022): A Quality Metric for Evaluating Timely Treatment of Severe Hypertension
ACOG Committee Opinion #736: Optimizing Postpartum Care
Sample Policies and Procedures
Clinical Scenarios and Drills
Practicing for Patients Obstetric In-Situ Drill Program
New: AHRQ: Safety Program for Perinatal Care Toolkit and Clinical Case Scenarios
Provider and Nursing Education
NEW: AHA: The Role of Cardiovascular Health in Maternal Health (6/2023)
Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy Education Module, (12/2022)
AHRQ: Frontline Education, E-modules
Emergency Department Resources
ACOG: Emergency Department - Postpartum Preeclampsia Checklist (January, 2019)
CMQCC HTN Toolkit Visit Stop Sign- English
CMQCC HTN Toolkit Visit Stop Sign- Spanish
NEW: AIM/RHNTC: Recognize Postpartum Warning Signs Poster for Non-OB Clinical Staff
Patient Education Maternal Early Warning Signs
AIM “Urgent Maternal Warning Signs”
Respectful Care
March of Dimes: Awareness to Action: Dismantling Bias in Maternal and Infant Healthcare
AWHONN: Respectful Maternity Care Implementation Toolkit (RMC-IT)
ACOG: Respectful Care e-Modules (Free)
Webinars
- Patient Debriefs After a Severe Event (4/24/25)
- Emergency Department Identification and Management of Perinatal Hypertensive Disorders (10/28/24)
- Implementation of Postpartum Hypertension Monitoring (8/15/24)
- AIM Hypertension Bundle Update (8/30/22)
- Updates to the Management of Chronic Mild Hypertension in OB Patients (7/14/22)
