Postpartum patients at birthing hospitals in Connecticut will receive an orange bracelet starting this fall.
The state-funded effort is a partnership with the Connecticut Hospital Association that seeks to reduce postpartum mortality and complications by raising awareness of symptoms.
Postpartum symptoms that can require urgent care include an incision that’s not healing, thoughts of self-harm or harm to one’s baby, chest pain and a rapid heartbeat, swelling in the arm or leg and trouble breathing.
Doctors are encouraging patients to wear the bracelets for 12 weeks after giving birth. The bracelet alerts medical staff to look for – and immediately treat – postpartum complications they may have otherwise missed.
In Connecticut, almost half of pregnancy-related deaths happen less than a year after pregnancy, according to the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH). Statewide, non-Hispanic Black women are the most likely to die from problems related to being pregnant.
"A woman's body undergoes tremendous changes during pregnancy and childbirth, and proper healing takes time," said Dr. Manisha Juthani, commissioner of Connecticut's DPH.
"Complications like infections, excessive bleeding, blood clots, or problems with cesarean section wounds can be serious," Juthani said. "Wearing these bracelets will tell emergency responders and health care workers to look out for urgent maternal warning signs."
Birthing people will also receive a handbook with symptoms, and if they occur, will be instructed to call 911 or show up at the ER.
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The Connecticut Urgent Maternal Warning Signs Bracelet Initiative is led by the Connecticut Perinatal Quality Collaborative (CPQC) and the Connecticut Hospital Association.
