Shared decision-making is when a patient and their health care providers work together to make health care decisions. It encourages patients to be involved in their own care and provides space for them to share their health care goals and preferences.
The New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute launched this community-focused initiative to advance high-quality maternal health outcomes and respectful childbirth experiences, partnering with two Greater Mercer County health systems, Capital Health Medical Center and Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center.
The program is among the first in the nation to implement recommendations from the National Partnership for Women & Families guide, Raising the Bar for Maternal Health Equity and Excellence. The guide recognizes health systems as providers of care, employers, trusted community partners, and advocates—roles that can drive better outcomes for all patients and families.
New Jersey has made progress in improving care for mothers and babies during and after pregnancy. Still, more work is needed to ensure every family receives consistent, respectful, high-quality care.
Raising the Bar for Maternal Health in New Jersey focuses on making lasting improvements in hospitals and the communities they serve. With nearly all births in the state taking place in hospitals, these institutions are essential partners in this effort. This initiative is building sustainable practices that can strengthen maternal health care in NJ and serve as a model for others.
Each health system completed a comprehensive assessment of maternal health services, outcomes, and patient experiences, reviewing areas such as mental health, midwifery and doula care, social supports, and more. This process identified strengths and opportunities for meaningful change.
The Maternal Health Benchmarking Survey and Rubric, developed by the Quality Institute with Ariadne Labs, draws on recommendations from the RTB guide and national experts.
Each hospital created a PCAB, bringing together patients, doulas, community health workers, and local leaders, to ensure hospital policies and practices were informed by community voices. Acting as a bridge between hospital and community, the PCABs are driving sustainable, community-centered change.
As part of the initiative, the two health systems implemented TeamBirth, a nationally recognized model to improve communication and respectful care. The approach uses team huddles and other tools to center the patient’s voice in all decisions.
Learn more about TeamBirth NJ below.
“Hearing from, and being responsive to, our patients and community is a vital part of being a community focused healthcare provider. Having the opportunity to hear directly from those who have used, or plan to use, our services gives us the chance to hear what we are doing right, but even more importantly, what we can improve or consider as we develop our services.”
– Alex Nelson, Service Line Director, Maternal & Infant Health, Capital Health
Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center
“Care you receive can feel like it’s happening to you, rather than involving you. This initiative will help capture the blind spots in care and improve outcomes and communication. So many positives can come from this.”
– Karina, New Mom and PCAB Member
TeamBirth is a shared decision-making program. It involves team huddles and other tools used during childbirth. Using these tools for every birth helps improve communication and ensure respectful care that aligns with patient preferences.
To improve communication and teamwork in the health care delivery system, we partnered with Ariadne Labs to implement their TeamBirth program in New Jersey. TeamBirth is currently implemented in 26 NJ birthing facilities and continues to expand.
Atlantic Health Overlook Medical Center*
Capital Health Medical Center Hopewell
Englewood Health*
HMH Hackensack University Medical Center*
HMH Jersey Shore University Medical Center*
HMH JFK University Medical Center*
HMH Riverview Medical Center*
Holy Name Medical Center*
Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill*
Inspira Medical Center Vineland*
Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital*
RWJBH Community Medical Center*
RWJBH Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center*
RWJBH Monmouth Medical Center*
RWJBH Jersey City Medical Center*
RWJBH Trinitas Medical Center*
RWJ University Hospital*
Saint Peter’s University Hospital*
Saint Peter’s Mary V. O’Shea Birth Center*
St. Joseph’s University Medical Center*
The Valley Hospital*
Virtua Midwifery Birth & Wellness Center*
Virtua Mount Holly Hospital*
Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital
Virtua Voorhees Hospital*
*Implementation supported through the NJ Department of Health’s Maternal Health Innovation (MHI) Program
To learn more about TeamBirth or implementing TeamBirth in your facility, please complete this interest form.
Patients in New Jersey who experience TeamBirth report feeling heard, included in their care, and that their preferences were respected. They express higher levels of autonomy and involvement in shared decision-making during childbirth. Health care teams have reported on the positive impact of shared decision-making on improving interdisciplinary communication, teamwork, and birth experiences and outcomes.
TeamBirth uses the My Autonomy in Decision-Making (MADM) scale to assess childbirth experiences. The evidence-based tool focuses on communication with the health care team, education on options for care, and involvement in decision making.
We have collected feedback from nearly 3,000 patients in NJ on their childbirth experiences. This chart looks at feedback from patients who reported they did not experience TeamBirth huddles (blue bars) and patients who reported they did experience TeamBirth huddles (orange bars). Across all items, autonomy and involvement in decisions is higher for patients who experienced TeamBirth.
