At the May 23 Midwifery Working Group meeting, a member presented an overview of an "orange bracelet" initiative the Connecticut Perinatal Quality Collaborative is adopting as a quality-improvement measure for postpartum triage.

The concept, described by the presenter, mirrors programs already used at some U.S. hospital systems: a silicone orange bracelet reading "I gave birth" that identifies someone in the vulnerable postpartum period for emergency departments, EMS and other clinicians. The presenter described the bracelet as a low-lift intervention coupled with provider and patient education to speed triage and raise awareness of postpartum warning signs.

The presenter said the DPH is contracting to procure the bracelets for Connecticut and that printed patient materials in multiple languages are available to accompany the device. Participants discussed concerns raised in other states about potential confusion with other colored medical bracelets and about sensitivity when a family has experienced a pregnancy loss; one suggested turning the text inward on the bracelet in those circumstances.

There was no formal vote; the working-group presenter asked members to indicate individual interest in receiving bracelets for distribution and said she would coordinate orders through DPH.

Ending: The presenter said she would circulate slides and links to multilingual patient-education materials and would accept individual requests for bracelets to distribute through midwives and birth facilities.