A new study shows U.S. maternal mortality rates are increasing, and health care providers and advocacy groups are racing to build better care for new parents
Donna Richardson’s pregnancy should have ticked all the boxes for a smooth delivery. At the time, she was a physically active, 30-year-old traffic officer with no underlying health conditions. Her water broke at 40 weeks, the sweet spot for labor and delivery, and her home in Washington State was a quick 15-minute drive away from the hospital. But as Richardson’s contractions intensified, her discomfort quickly escalated into piercing chest pains.
Annual reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have long indicated a downward trend in health outcomes for pregnant people in the U.S. This was particularly apparent during the COVID pandemic, when people delayed seeking care, and maternal mortality rates rose by 40 percent from 2020 to 2021. But detailed, long-term data for racial and ethnic groups across all U.S.
But focusing too narrowly on demographics, labor and delivery paints an incomplete picture of maternal health, says Lindsay Admon, an obstetrician-gynecologist at the University of Michigan Medical School. In fact, over the past decade, maternal mortality during labor and delivery has decreased in U.S. hospitals across people of all ages, races and ethnicities, which researchers say is a result of improved birthing protocols.
During the second month postpartum, Richardson began experiencing panic attacks in response to seemingly innocuous triggers, such as the scent of latex or the sight of Instagram posts showing a friend’s giggling newborn. Night after night, terrifying dreams of the delivery room stole the precious sleep she managed to get between shifts of soothing her newborn son. She soon realized her emotional distress was connected to her pregnancy.
Shanti Moore, a registered nurse and birth justice coordinator at SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective in Georgia, says that people of color, such as Richardson, who is Black, are especially vulnerable to having their medical complaints overlooked. Although 49 states have formal maternal mortality review committees to investigate pregnancy-associated deaths, only nine states, Washington, D.C., and New York City consider racial disparities and equity in their assessments. Admon notes that MMRCs provide local government officials with insights into their state’s specific maternal health challenges and identify opportunities for prevention—which is why it’s crucial for them to have an inclusive picture of the problem.
The Future of Maternal Health Thirty-five states and Washington, D.C., have extended Medicaid postpartum coverage to ensure pregnant people remain insured for a full year after birth rather than the currently standard 60 days. These expansions have been shown to significantly reduce maternal mortality, particularly among Black people.
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