Health care leaders gathered at Saint Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick on Tuesday for the official launch of Team Birth, a program aimed at improving outcomes for women and infants in New Jersey.

“Women are saying ‘I wasn’t heard,’ or their partner is saying ‘I tried to explain, nobody listened to me.’ So with Team Birth, it’s a very simple concept, but what it does is it really includes the patient and centers the patient in the conversations and discussions,” said Linda Schwimmer, president and CEO of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, which is implementing the program.

Team Birth is part of a state maternal health pilot program that’s federally funded through the Department of Health. It is a major piece of first lady Tammy Murphy’s Nurture NJ program.

Ria Rodney, director of Nurture NJ, said, “We want to make sure that this is the safest place to have your baby and raise a family and that’s what they’re doing here … talking to the mom, talking to the family, bringing everyone together, making sure everyone’s voice is heard…”