Improving Maternal Safety with Continuous Noninvasive Blood Pressure Monitoring in Obstetrics

At the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP) meeting in Montreal, Desiree Chappell and Mike Grocott interview Meghan MacCleary, Obstetrician-Gynaecologist with Banner Health in Phoenix, about multidisciplinary collaboration to improve maternal outcomes. Dr MacCleary describes her high-risk tertiary practice (about 4,000 deliveries/year; 25–26% C-sections) and decision-making for C-section based on safest delivery for mother or baby, amid rising maternal comorbidities, obesity, and older maternal age. She highlights concerns during C-section including patient comfort, hypotension, nausea/vomiting, bleeding, and postpartum haemorrhage, noting U.S. maternal mortality concerns. The conversation advocates for continuous noninvasive blood pressure monitoring (finger cuff) to detect instability earlier, reporting reduced hemorrhage and ICU transfers in a 90-day quality project and discussing related advocacy at an Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) Capitol Hill briefing. -- Join us at Evidence Based Perioperative Medicine (EBPOM) World Congress 2026 in London. Be part of a global conversation as clinicians from around the world gather between 7-9th July at the British Library in London. Three days of evidence-based perioperative medicine, global insights, and expert debate—featuring speakers including Michael Marmot and Ken Rockwood. Register here - https://ebpom.org/product/ebpom-world-congress-2026/