AIM Information as of March 2025

South Carolina Birth Outcomes Initiative
Joins the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health

Did you know? The United States has the highest rate of maternal deaths of any developed nation, and over 80% of those deaths are preventable.^1,2 In response, the national Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) was founded to promote consistent and safe maternity care to significantly reduce maternal morbidity and maternal mortality.³ In partnership with the South Carolina Birth Outcomes Initiative, SC became an AIM state in October, 2019.

What Is AIM? The purpose of AIM is to “equip, empower and embolden every state, perinatal quality collaborative, hospital network/system, birth facility and maternity care provider in the U.S. to significantly reduce severe maternal morbidity and maternal mortality through proven implementation of consistent maternity care practices.”⁴ AIM strategies include broad partnership, tools and technical assistance, implementation training, real-time data, building on existing initiatives, and incremental bundle adoption.⁵
AIM maternal safety bundles (action systems) focus on obstetric hemorrhage, severe hypertension in pregnancy, safe reduction of primary cesarean birth, cardiac conditions in obstetric care, maternal substance use disorder, perinatal mental health, postpartum discharge transition, and sepsis.⁶ Hospitals participating in AIM collect a series of process and structure measures, which help the birthing facility monitor its implementation of these bundles. Likewise, severe maternal morbidity (SMM) outcome data is collected for these obstetric patient groups: all birth events, maternal hemorrhage, severe hypertension/preeclampsia, cardiac conditions, and perinatal mental health.

Recent IFS SC AIM Presentations

Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health - SFY 2024 Data Update

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2024 Poster Presentation for the American Public Health Association (Philadelphia, PA)
The relationship between anemia and adverse obstetrics and neonatal outcomes: Implications for policy and practice

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For more information on IFS data collection and reporting for SC AIM, please review the PDF or contact: 

¹https://www.cdc.gov/maternal-mortality/php/data-research/index.html
²https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2024/jun/insights-us-maternal-mortality-crisis-international-comparison
³Funded through the Health Resources and Services Administration Maternal and Child Health Bureau, it is a program under the auspices of the Council for Patient Safety in Women’s Health Care (for which the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is a member).
⁴https://www.acog.org/About-ACOG/ACOG-Departments/Patient-Safety-and-Quality-Improvement/What-is-AIM
⁵https://safehealthcareforeverywoman.org/aim-program/
⁶https://saferbirth.org/patient-safety-bundles/