HCANYS Commemorates Maternal Sepsis Awareness Week

The Situation Report | May 12, 2025

Do you know the signs and symptoms of sepsis? You could save a mother.

Join HCANYS in recognizing the annual Maternal Sepsis Week, May 11^th-17^th, to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of sepsis in mothers, recognize the 5.7 million mothers who develop sepsis each year worldwide, and honor those who have passed. This annual observance is held each year the week of Mother’s Day.

HCANYS worked throughout 2023 under a special grant from the END SEPSIS-Rory Staunton Legacy to develop a special training module and specific tools for maternal and neonatal sepsis, with a specific emphasis on home care agencies, public health departments, and other community health agencies supporting maternal and infant care.  Partnering in this module were three divisions of NYSDOH, Albany Medical Center, Sepsis Alliance, IPRO, and others. HCANYS urges agencies to review the module and register with HCANYS to start using the maternal and infant sepsis screening tools that are uniquely available through HCANYS.  Please contact HCANYS at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  See important details below on maternal sepsis.

Maternal Sepsis

Maternal sepsis is a life-threatening medical emergency, defined as organ dysfunction resulting from infection during pregnancy, childbirth, abortion, miscarriage, or the postpartum period.¹ Maternal sepsis is the second leading cause of pregnancy-related death in the United States.²

Women in the United States are more likely to die as a result of pregnancy and childbirth than women in ANY other developed nation.² Black women are three times more likely to die of pregnancy-related issues than white women.²  The U.S. is the only developed country where material mortality rates are rising rather than falling.²

Use these free downloadable resources to post to raise awareness and education around maternal sepsis.

Sepsis Deaths Are Preventable

It is imperative that we work together to raise awareness for sepsis, provide education on early identification of sepsis, and get patients the right care AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

As 87% of sepsis arises in the home and community-based settings,³ HCANYS has developed a Sepsis Screening and Intervention Tool and Protocol for both the adult and pediatric populations to assist professionals and caregivers in early identification, in addition to the Zone Tool, which is useful for family members and caregivers to become familiar with the early signs and symptoms of sepsis.

Sepsis Tool and Resources

Do your part in preventing more deaths from sepsis. Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. today to learn how you can get involved in saving lives by using the Sepsis Screening and Intervention tools for adults and pediatrics. This is a screening tool to be used by properly trained and credentialed nurses during home visits. To accompany the Sepsis Screening and Intervention tools, there are several sepsis zone tools available for use by aide level staff and caregivers. Adult, maternal, and pediatric sepsis sone tools have been created and translated to several languages. These along with other zone tools and resources are available for free download and use here.

For more information about sepsis and maternal sepsis, visit Sepsis Alliance and END SEPSIS-The Legacy of Rory Staunton to learn more and to watch education sessions.

¹ Maternal Sepsis Week | Sepsis Alliance

² End Maternal Sepsis - End Sepsis

³ Septic Shock | Sepsis Alliance