As maternal mortality rates rise in the United States, addressing the issue has become an important policy issue.
A new report from the University of Michigan finds astounding variations across different states and races.
The information comes specifically from a database of people with Medicaid, but Medicaid pays for 41% of all births in the United States, so it’s a very large and important sample.
All told, Michigan was in the top 10 highest for pregnancy-related complications, with eclampsia being the leading indicator of morbidity or the amount of disease in our state.
“We learned that among the non-Hispanic Black population, one of the leading complications was eclampsia, and eclampsia means having a seizure from severe blood pressure in pregnancy,” said Dr. Lingsay Admon.
Admon, who is the lead author of the study and an obstetrician-gynecologist at the University of Michigan Health Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital, says there was a difference among white women.
“Among the non-Hispanic white population, we found that sepsis or severe infection and pregnancy were among the leading maternal morbidity indicators,” Admon said. “Maternal mortality is a really sensitive public health indicator and an important health indicator. Healthy moms are needed for us to have healthy babies in this country, and addressing maternal mortality is really an urgent public health need.”
In addition to differences in compilations by race, the study also found wide variations by state.
“The most interesting thing that we found that was unexpected was that rates of maternal morbidity ranged threefold across states, so from as low as 80 per 10,000 births in Utah to 210 per 10,000 births in Washington, D.C,” Admon said.
Washington D.C, California, Nevada, New Jersey, and New York had the highest complication rates.
“We really hope this data informs the maternal health community in terms of where to target clinical and policy interventions,” Admon said.
The bottom line is that it’s essential for all women to have access to and actually go to prenatal and after-delivery care visits.
That’s especially true for women with pre-existing chronic conditions like obesity, diabetes, and mental health conditions since those are especially associated with poor outcomes related to pregnancy.