SMFM Announces Cooperative Agreement with CDC

Washington, DC—The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) has received a multiyear award totaling more than $1.3 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to build capacity and collaboration among maternal health professional organizations and to improve care systems for persons with hypertension in pregnancy.  

The funding, as part of the CDC’s National Partners Cooperative Agreement (Strengthening Public Health Systems and Services Through National Partnership to Improve and Protect the Nation’s Health), will support two new SMFM initiatives.  

The MFM Workforce Capacity Building and Partnerships Initiative is designed to evaluate the strengths and needs of the existing workforce and provide guidance on future workforce development, including transitions through various career stages. Partnership activities will focus on community engagement, MFM sonography education, and building collaborative relationships with clinical partners such as nurse practitioners and genetic counselors.  

The Million Hearts: Improving Hypertension Control Among Pregnant and Postpartum Persons Initiative is designed to improve care systems for persons with hypertension during pregnancy and postpartum in the outpatient clinical care setting by implementing strategies from the Million Hearts® Hypertension in Pregnancy Change Package (HPCP). Activities include developing and testing evidence-informed and evidence-based process improvements as well as creating tools or resources to support implementing priority HPCP change concepts.  

“This award furthers SMFM’s goal of advancement of optimal and equitable perinatal outcomes for all people who desire or experience pregnancy,” says SMFM President Cynthia Gyamfi-Bannerman, MD, MS. “It will bolster the Society’s ability to strategically strengthen existing partnerships while building new collaborative relationships, responsive networks, and information-sharing practices.”   

This is SMFM’s second award from the CDC and the Society is one of 48 organizations to receive funding in 2024 from the National Partners cooperative agreement, which is CDC’s largest umbrella funding mechanism and designed to increase knowledge, skill, and ability to deliver essential public health services. In 2023, SMFM received a CDC award to address infectious diseases and emerging threats in maternal-fetal medicine and establish the DATA Academy to bridge the gap between maternal mortality review committee (MMRC) data and stakeholder action to reduce maternal deaths and improve health equity. 

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About SMFM
The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM), founded in 1977, is the medical professional society for obstetricians who have additional training in high-risk, complicated pregnancies. SMFM represents more than 7,000 members who care for high-risk pregnant people and provides education, promotes research, and engages in advocacy to reduce disparities and optimize the health of high-risk pregnant people and their families. SMFM and its members are dedicated to optimizing maternal and fetal outcomes and assuring medically appropriate treatment options are available to all patients.

For media interviews, contact: smfm@smfm.org