The National Institutes of Health has named Stanford Medicine a Maternal Health Research Center of Excellence and awarded it $14 million for an initiative entitled PRIHSM, or Preventing Inequities in Hemorrhage-Related Severe Maternal Morbidity.

Yasser El-Sayed, MD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and Suzan Carmichael, PhD, professor of pediatrics and of obstetrics and gynecology at Stanford Medicine, will lead the center. Stanford Medicine is one of 10 NIH Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence selected through a competitive, peer-review process.

The goal of PRIHSM is to reduce the incidence and downstream morbidities of postpartum hemorrhage by addressing iron-deficiency anemia and cesarean births. A leading cause of maternal death and severe maternal morbidity, postpartum hemorrhage disproportionately affects socially marginalized groups.

"We are committed to being leaders in reducing maternal morbidity and health inequities surrounding postpartum hemorrhage through our center's research projects and training initiatives, and through deepening ties to our local, regional and national communities," El-Sayed said.