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Background  Addressing perinatal health inequities is the joint responsibility of professionals working for local governments, the medical, social, and public health sector. Cross-sectoral collaboration between these professionals is challenging. For such collaborations to succeed, a transition is necessary, i.e. a fundamental shift in the dominant structure, culture, and practices at the systems level, is necessary. We investigated facilitators and barriers for crosssectoral collaborations, when addressing perinatal health inequities in the Netherlands. Additionally, we studied how cross-sectoral collaborations can be facilitated by action research. Methods  We used interview and questionnaire data of the Healthy Pregnancy 4 All-3 (HP4All- 3) program, which resulted from action research in six Dutch municipalities. All interviews were coded using open codes related to facilitators and barriers for cross-sectoral collaboration …