The last couple of weeks have included a whirlwind of travel and meetings, starting with a week in Las Vegas for a combination of our biannual Board of Directors meeting and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's 37th Annual Pregnancy Meeting™ where numerous sessions focused on new preeclampsia research. You can follow some of my activity on my Twitter account and read more about the research presented at the meeting here. 

 

Immediately following the week in our country's "grown-up playground" (I only gambled and lost $6!), it was off to Washington, DC, for the Council on Patient Safety in Women's Healthcare (@ptsafetycouncil) biannual meeting. Since the Preeclampsia Foundation was recently elected to serve as a voting member on this multi-disciplinary council, it was quite an honor, and responsibility, to engage on critical decisions, development of quality improvement bundles, and ensure that patient perspective was included every step of the way. We will continue to "be a voice, not an echo" for you!

 

While there, I was also interviewed by National Public Radio's Renee Montagne (Morning Edition host) for a series of reports on maternal mortality in the US that are being developed for both print and radio. We have been helping to develop this investigative series for over a year, hoping to shine a light on the climbing rate of pregnancy-related deaths in this country. We believe moms and their babies deserve better, including state-by-state reporting and quality improvement efforts, and more outcomes-based research funding.

 

The Foundation's staff and board of directors have a lot in store for 2017. We're thrilled to have so many allies and supporters by our side!

In Las Vegas for the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's 37th Annual Pregnancy Meeting™ - attended by more than 2,700 high-risk specialists - Preeclampsia Foundation staff learned more about the state of preeclampsia research, presented at several meetings, and announced the Foundation's 2017 Vision Grant program.

Findings from a highly anticipated clinical study that would allow women with preeclampsia to extend their pregnancies safely - the PRESERVE-1 study - were presented. Unfortunately, the study results were negative, deflating many in the community who were optimistic that use of a recombinant antithrombin in pregnant women with preeclampsia could delay delivery, thus increasing the gestational age of those babies. Findings from this randomized double-blind study, the largest randomized trial in preeclampsia to date for any intervention, showed that the intervention did no better than placebo in preterm preeclampsia patients.

Promise Walk season is upon us, and it's a time where we really focus on communicating to all of you and through you, your networks, why funding our mission is so important.

You might think: "Does it really matter if I register? Does the $500 I raise every year really make a difference?"

We're here to tell you that it DOES matter. Every dollar counts when you are a small organization with a big mission! Every dollar that doesn't come in is one less thing that we can do to change healthcare practices for families like yours.

Without that $500 your team raises:

• 1,000 fewer brochures are shipped to doctors and nurses who use them in their clinics to educate patients like you.
• Five fewer survivors' DNA is extracted, stored, and available to be studied with The Preeclampsia Registry.
• Two hardworking Promise Walk volunteer coordinators might go without the supplies they need to make your family's day fun and memorable.

That's why we need YOUR voice. Register for a location (or the virtual event), customize your fundraising page, and SHARE your story with your network to ask for their support.

Help us continue to do all the amazing things you hear about each month in Expectations!

The first weeks of President Trump's Administration have been predictably busy as he and Republicans in Congress begin pursuing their policy priorities and seeking confirmation for the President's cabinet nominees. In January, Representative Tom Price, MD (R-GA-6), President Trump's nominee for Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), appeared before both the Senate Health, Labor, Education, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and the Senate Finance Committee. The latter is charged with voting to report the nomination either favorably, unfavorably, or without recommendation to the full Senate for a final vote on confirmation. These votes are expected to take place in February.

 

Vision Grants are intended to provide initial funding for novel, innovative research by promising young investigators that will advance progress towards detection, prevention, or treatment of preeclampsia, HELLP syndrome, and other hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Post-doctoral, Clinical Fellows or Early Stage Investigators only are eligible to apply. Projects with potential to alter clinical management and improve patient outcomes will receive priority, but any well-considered research proposal will be accepted for review. International applications are welcome; however, submissions must be in English.

 

The application deadline is May 12, 2017, with award notification in August 2017. Instructions to apply can be found at www.preeclampsia.org/research .