LAUSR

Having a baby in the United States can be risky and even fatal for both the mom and her infant. It can be even riskier if you are pregnant and giving birth in the state of North Carolina. In 2017, North Carolina ranked 41st out of 50 states in infant mortality rates [1]. This accounts for the 897 North Carolina babies that died in the first year of their life in 2017, according to data from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS) [2]. During the same year, 27 North Carolina mothers died from causes directly related to their pregnancy or from preexisting medical problems that were exasperated by pregnancy [2]. In September of 2017, NC DHHS provided funding for a Perinatal/Neonatal Outreach Coordinator (PNOC) project. Grants were awarded to tertiary centers in 2 of the 6 Perinatal Regions of North Carolina to establish PNOC programs: one to the University of North Carolina in Perinatal Region IV and one to Vidant Health in Perinatal Region VI. The goal of the PNOC program is to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes in the state. There are 2 strategies being implemented: supporting healthy pregnancy intervals by increasing access to long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) in the immediate postpartum period, and assessing a birthing facility's levels of neonatal and maternal care by using the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Levels of Care Assessment Tool (LOCATe). The CDC developed LOCATe to provide a standard for assessing a facility's ability to care for…