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Maureen Corry

What Do Mothers Need? Quality Maternity Care

| May 5, 2014

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The quality of maternity care in our country is poor. Childbirth costs more in the United States than in any other developed country, but our maternal and child health outcomes lag behind those of other countries. Too many babies are born at low birth weight. The rates of maternal mortality and prematurity are high. Disparities persist – especially for African American women and babies. And too many women receive unnecessary and unwanted interventions during labor that don’t result in better outcomes.

As Mother’s Day approaches, we renew our commitment to improving the quality of maternity care so women can enjoy safe, satisfying pregnancies and births, and babies can have a healthy start in life. We ask you to join us. We can all play a part in helping pregnant women and newborns get the high-quality care they deserve.

It’s critically important that pregnant women have the tools and information they need to partner with their providers to make the best decisions about pregnancy and childbirth, and ensure care adheres to a woman’s preferences. Most women assume they are receiving the best care, but that’s not always the case. For example, in our Listening to Mothers III survey, 25 percent of women with cesareans reported feeling pressure from a health professionalto have that procedure. Providers must adhere to evidence-based guidelines and adapt their practices as guidelines change, and women must have the opportunity to take a more active role in their care.

That’s where we need your help. In many cases, a woman does not have the information she needs to take a more active role in the decision-making process around her pregnancy, labor and childbirth. That’s why too many decisions about pregnancy and childbirth are made for women, not with women. Childbirth Connection programs at the National Partnership for Women & Families has created a number of resources for pregnant women to help them access the best care. Most recently, we produced a consumer-friendly resource to help pregnant women partner with their providers to prevent unnecessary cesarean sections.

Information is power and we need you to share this important information with the pregnant women in your life: your sisters, cousins, friends and co-workers. Sharing can be as simple as sending an email saying “I thought you might find this resource helpful.” However you decide to take action, you’ll be making a difference.

About the Author

Maureen Corry

Maureen Corry

Maureen Corry is senior advisor for Childbirth Connection programs at the National Partnership for Women & Families. She joined the organization in January 2014 when Childbirth Connection joined forces with the National Partnership to integrate maternity care policy, shared decision making and quality improvement into the National Partnership’s program portfolio.

Prior to this, Corry served for 18 years as executive director of Childbirth Connection (founded in 1918 as Maternity Center Association). Her vision and leadership helped position the organization as a powerful and effective advocate for evidence-based maternity care, and maternity care policy and quality improvement.

In 2007, Corry led efforts to plan and launch Childbirth Connection’s Transforming Maternity Care initiative which focused on improving maternity care quality and value through consumer engagement and health system transformation. This work resulted in the 2010 publication of two direction-setting consensus reports "2020 Vision for a High-Quality, High-Value Maternity Care System" and "Blueprint for Action,” and the establishment of the multi-stakeholder Transforming Maternity Care Partnership to implement Blueprint recommendations. Under her direction, Childbirth Connection planned and carried out five national surveys of women’s childbearing experiences and perspectives. The surveys have influenced maternity care policy, practice and quality improvement efforts across the country.

Prior to joining Childbirth Connection, Corry spent 14 years at the March of Dimes Foundation in several executive positions including director of education and health promotion, director of community services, and Connecticut chapter director. Corry is currently a member of the board of directors of the National Quality Forum (NQF) and serves as co-chair of the NQF 2014 National Priorities Partnership Maternity Action Team comprised of leading organizations working to improve the safety and quality of maternity care and align public-private sector initiatives in support of the National Quality Strategy. She also served as co-chair of the Maternity Action Team in 2012 and co-chair of the Steering Committee for the NQF’s National Voluntary Consensus Standards for Perinatal Care Project (2008). Corry is a member of the consumer advisory council of the National Commission for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and a member of the Expert Design Team of the National Governors Association Improving Birth Outcomes Learning Network. She has served on numerous maternal and infant health committees, including the AMA/Physicians Consortium for Performance Improvement Maternity Workgroup and the Medicaid/CHIP Expert Panel on Improving Maternal and Infant Health Outcomes.

Corry received her Master of Public Health from Yale School of Public Health. She lives in Marshfield, Mass., with her husband. They have two married sons and four grandchildren.

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