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.

New research focused on health risks in mothers more than six weeks postpartum.

In 2016, Valerie Collignon gave birth at 35 weeks, which resulted in a week-long NICU stay that she described as “traumatizing.”

DETROIT – A family from Metro Detroit and California mourns the loss of a mother who died from COVID-19 after giving birth to her son. “She is going to leave a big void,” said Miguel Avilez, who lost his sister, 33-year-old Erika Becerra. “For us, her name means ‘Joy’ because she brought joy to everybody. No matter who you were, stranger, family member, she would bring joy to you.”Becerra was four weeks from giving birth to her second child when she started feeling symptoms of COVID-19. At Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, they made the call to induce her labor, and on Nov. 15, baby Diego Antonio was born.