Disparities in obstetric sepsis and strategies to prevent them

Abstract

Severe morbidity and mortality associated with sepsis in obstetric care occur even among those presumed to be at low risk, are highly preventable and deserve critical public health prioritization. Continued research is warranted that focuses on the development and performance assessment of screening tools, standardizing diagnostic criteria, and understanding how to implement and sustain quality improvement practices to support timely recognition and treatment, as well as equitable healthcare practices to improve maternal outcomes across diverse populations.

Keywords: Discrimination; Failure-to-rescue; Patient safety bundles; Racial and ethnic disparities; Sepsis; Structural racism.