Here are three things to know about maternal death in the U.S. and the new preventative campaign.
1. The numbers: In the U.S., there are 18.5 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle. While the rate is down from 2009 (22 deaths per 100,000 live births), preliminary numbers suggest the rate is again on the rise. The 18.5 number is significantly higher than the rate in other developed nations — the rate is 8.2 in Canada and 6.1 in the United Kingdom and Japan.
2. The campaign: The new effort led by the Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs, an advocacy group for the CDC, is calling on states to take a prominent role in the prevention of maternal death in America. The advocacy group is asking states that don’t already have them to create maternal mortality panels consisting of medical and forensic experts. Data collection is the key aim of these panels. The AMCHP want as much comprehensive information as possible regarding prenatal care, health conditions, medication use, drug and alcohol abuse, exposure to violence and previous medical procedures as they pertain to individual instances of maternal death. The goal is to better understand why these deaths occur. Cynthia Shellhaas, MD, an associate professor in the division of maternal-fetal medicine at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus and advocate the campaign, told the Post, “It’s hard to do anything about a problem if you don’t have the problem fully defined.”
3. Testing: The CDC and the AMCHP are testing the new data collection system in a dozen states. The organizations plan to eventually make these systems available to all states. The pharmaceutical giant Merck — which is engaged in a $500 million, worldwide campaign to improve maternal health — is helping to support the new campaign.
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