About Us

The Perinatal Quality Foundation is an independent non-profit foundation incorporated in 2004 born out of the Society of Maternal Fetal Medicine (SMFM). The mission is to improve the quality of obstetrical medical services by providing state-of-the-art educational programs. The Perinatal Quality Foundation Board and volunteers are comprised of some of the most respected clinicians in Obstetrics. We are proud of our more than 18-year history serving this mission, and for providing excellent programs, credentials and services to more than 35,000 participants.

The foundation is committed to disseminating safe and effective obstetrical practice protocols, and to providing clinician and provider education, monitoring measures, and consensus discussions on emerging obstetrical technologies. The strength of the PQF is its ability to bring together experts, thinkers, and leaders devoted to maternal and fetal health to reflect on, select, and implement programs to facilitate quality perinatal patient care. In addition, the Perinatal Quality Foundation has initiated discussions and/or research related to patient safety in obstetrics, prenatal genetic testing, and carrier genetic analysis.

In 2005, the initial focus of the Perinatal Quality Foundation (PQF) was the Nuchal Translucency Quality Review (NTQR) program. With maturation of the NTQR program the Board of Directors turned their attention toward a broader mission and additional clinical initiatives that could be facilitated through foundation efforts. The Cervical Length and Education Review (CLEAR) Program followed in 2011 with the Fetal Monitoring Credentialing (FMC) Program in 2013, and the Genetic Education Module (GEM) in 2016.

As evidence built to support a role for interventions to prevent preterm birth in subsets of women with a short cervical length, the need to standardize cervical length measurement became apparent. PQF convened a task force in November 2011 with representatives and experts. Membership on the task force included representatives from the American College of Radiology (ACR), the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG), the American College of Osteopathic Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOOG), the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (SDMS), and the Society of Maternal Fetal Medicine (SMFM). The task force developed a consensus education initiative that presented standard criteria for sonographic cervical measurement in pregnancy.

The Cervical Length Education and Review program (CLEAR) is a product of task force deliberations. The CLEAR program provides educational lectures, optional examinations, and scored image reviews. Those who complete the lectures and who pass the examination and image review receive documents verifying that they have completed the CLEAR program. They also qualify for CME provided by both SDMS and ACOG. Names of those who complete the program are listed on the CLEAR website.

The volunteers and staff involved in the development of the CLEAR program hope that the site will facilitate measurement of the cervix in a standard and accurate manner. The site is designed for education and practice.

We provide services of on-line credentialing and renewals for four programs, so please use the links below for the specific program pages and full details about the programs, on-line services, tests and credentials:

Need more details or have questions? Please email us at support@perinatalquality.org to contact a member of our staff.