About Obstetric Sepsis

Obstetric sepsis is the second-leading cause of maternal mortality. It is also the primary cause of severe maternal morbidity (SMM) during both the antepartum and postpartum periods, and the third-leading cause at delivery. Data from the California Pregnancy Associated Mortality Review (CA-PAMR) committee report estimate that 63% of maternal deaths from sepsis had a good or strong chance to have been preventable. Furthermore, for each maternal death, there are 50 women/birthing people who experience life-threatening morbidity from sepsis. 
 
A community co-designed and co-led quality improvement collaborative for obstetric sepsis was launched in two states (California and Michigan). CMQCC partnered with the Dunlevie Maternal-Fetal Medicine Center at Stanford School of Medicine, Michigan Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM), and Duke University to increase the impact of this effort. The Obstetric Sepsis Collaborative (Oct. 2023 – Nov. 2024) engaged mentor-led groups of six to ten hospitals. Each group had four mentors including a nurse, physician, community leader, and a patient with lived experience who added a unique and powerful perspective on this work. The Community Leadership Group and the Clinical Advisory Board, in partnership with project leadership, developed a number of resources that have been incorporated into the Obstetric Sepsis Toolkit.

Improving Diagnosis and Treatment of Maternal Sepsis Toolkit

"Improving Diagnosis and Treatment of Obstetric Sepsis, V2.0 Toolkit" was developed by the Sepsis Task Force Advisory Group, V2.0 (2025) and published in September 2025 as a resource for obstetricians, rapid response teams, and intensive care units who interact with women and birthing people during pregnancy and in the postpartum period. The toolkit introduces a new two-step screening and confirmation process to more accurately diagnose and treat obstetric sepsis. This screening and diagnostic approach has been updated as part of the NICHD-supported Obstetric Sepsis Collaborative active in California and Michigan. As part of the review process for the collaborative, the sepsis toolkit has been reviewed and updated to recognize:

  • Updates on screening
  • New and improved obstetric antibiotics
  • Infectious Diseases Society of America’s updated sepsis guidelines
  • Patient and provider resources from national obstetric organizations focused on Maternal Urgent Warning Signs, patient advocacy support, and clinician listening tips
     

Download Improving Diagnosis and Treatment of Obstetric Sepsis, V2.0 Toolkit (2025)
 

Individual sections of the toolkit are also available for download:

2026 Obstetric Sepsis Implementation Sprint

The 2026 Sprint will share key implementation steps learned from the 18-month Michigan-California Obstetric Sepsis Collaborative and use CMQCC's "Improving Diagnosis and Treatment of Obstetric Sepsis, V2.0 Toolkit" as a guide throughout. The sessions will focus on practical implementation steps for the Toolkit at your institution, with less emphasis on background content, and will include plenty of time for questions. In addition, a series of recorded webinars (see Key Resources, above) are available to deepen clinical understanding. Whenever possible, we will use real hospital examples and experiences.

Key Dates

The Sprint's 90-minute sessions will take place virtually on the third Tuesday of each month at noon Pacific Time.

January 20, 2026: Session 1 Recorded Webinar and Slide Set
Presenter: Jenna Ogborn, BSN RNC-OB, Miller Children’s and Women’s
Materials available for download, descriptions for use are included in the webinar and slide set above.

Upcoming Sessions
  • February 17, 2026: Session 2
  • March 17, 2026: Session 3
  • April 21, 2026: Session 4 and Closing

 

Key Resources

Webinars 

Sepsis Collaborative Webinar Series

Related Publications: Sepsis Quality Improvement Collaborative

 

Funding Acknowledgement

Funding for the joint California and Michigan Obstetric Sepsis QI Collaborative is provided by a cooperative agreement with NICHD (UH3-HD108053).