The rate of Texas women who died from complications related to pregnancy doubled from 2010 to 2014, a new study has found, for an estimated maternal mortality rate that is unmatched in any other state and the rest of the developed world.
The finding comes from a report, appearing in the September issue of the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, that the maternal mortality rate in the United States increased between 2000 and 2014, even while the rest of the world succeeded in reducing its rate. Excluding California, where maternal mortality declined, and Texas, where it surged, the estimated number of maternal deaths per 100,000 births rose to 23.8 in 2014 from 18.8 in 2000 – or about 27%.
But the report singled out Texas for special concern, saying the doubling of mortality rates in a two-year period was hard to explain “in the absence of war, natural disaster, or severe economic upheaval”.
From 2000 to the end of 2010, Texas’s estimated maternal mortality rate hovered between 17.7 and 18.6 per 100,000 births. But after 2010, that rate had leaped to 33 deaths per 100,000, and in 2014 it was 35.8. Between 2010 and 2014, more than 600 women died for reasons related to their pregnancies.
No other state saw a comparable increase.
In 2011, just as the spike began, the Texas state legislature cut $73.6m from the state’s family planning budget of $111.5m. The two-thirds cut forced more than 80 family planning clinics to shut down across the state. The remaining clinics managed to provide services – such as low-cost or free birth control, cancer screenings and well-woman exams – to only half as many women as before.
At the same time, Texas eliminated all Planned Parenthood clinics – whether or not they provided abortion services – from the state program that provides poor women with preventive healthcare. Previously, Planned Parenthood clinics in Texas offered cancer screenings and contraception to more than 130,000 women.
Things will be better when they completely rid themselves of Planned Parenthood.
Excluding California, where maternal mortality declined, and Texas, where it surged, the estimated number of maternal deaths per 100,000 births rose to 23.8 in 2014 from 18.8 in 2000 – or about 27%.
Why?
Funny how the more pro-life the politicians the more dead women.
The article attempt to link this with Planned Parent funding. Of course this is not based on any evidence but it could be true. As for myself, I blame Canada.
The real possibilities include a number of non exclusive things such as disease among subpopulations, fear of immigration status and so avoiding care, cuts in funding for PP and other organizations. I'm sure we could come up with more but that's off the top of the head things.
Why? Nobody knows.
Texas is not developed world anymore, that's why. Texas is Nigeria with BBQ.
Record keeping problems: National data on maternal mortality is inconsistent, and some health authorities argue that the uptick in maternal deaths is at least partially due to improved detection of pregnancy-related deaths . However, MacDorman says the 27% increase observed in her study is a true rise in maternal deaths, rather than a reporting issue.
More American women are obese: America’s growing obesity problem is a factor . There’s also a growing number of pregnant women in the U.S. with chronic health problems like high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes—all of which put women at a greater risk for complications during pregnancy. According to the CDC, heart-related problems make up a substantial portion of pregnancy-related deaths.
Access is inconsistent: Between 2000 to 2015, Texas saw a spike in maternal mortality while the state also underwent changes to reproductive health services, including the closure of several clinics offering abortions and other services. In 2011, the state’s family planning budget was cut by two-thirds. Experts say the lack of access is probably not solely responsible for the state’s dramatic spike in deaths, but as The Texas Tribune reports, it may have exacerbated the issue. “I’ve done my best to try to investigate this as a data error and I can’t find any changes to account for it,” says MacDorman. “It’s very concerning what’s happening in Texas.”
Racial disparities persist: Black women in the United States are up to three times more likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth compared to white women. While they are not significantly more likely to develop conditions like hemorrhage and preeclampsia—which threaten a women's health during childbirth—they are more likely to die from them.
Rise in cesarean births: The rates of c-section deliveries among American women rose 53% from 1996 to 2007, now accounting for 32% of births. "Cesarean has its place, and it has saved the lives of mothers and babies," says Dr. Michael Lu, an a ssociate administrator with the Maternal and Child Health Bureau at the Health Resources and Services Administration . "But cesarean has its complications and these can increase the risk of maternal death." C-sections require intensive surgery, and are associated with higher health and safety risks for mothers and infants.
Women are having children later: Lu says older women are at a greater risk for maternal mortality, with a couple caveats. "It’s not clear whether it’s age, or that older women have more chronic conditions when they enter pregnancy," he says. "The demographic of childbearing is changing. Women are getting older and they are entering pregnancy with more conditions like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease." To combat the problem, Lu says his department is focusing on improving the health of women before they get pregnant, and improving the quality and safety of maternal health care nationwide.
It rose despite a relatively even amount of both democratic and republican political control. I get that many feel obliged to fight for their team so the OP mainly focuses on Texas's dramatic increase, but fails to see that this is a national problem.
This looks like a good article on it.
http://time.com/4508369/why-u-s-women-still-die-during-childbirth/
Article indicates that possibly between 2012-2014 there was a slight drop in the overall rate - which is actually when Texas was spiking, but still since 2000 it has rose 27%.
Heard same right wing BS on smoking, global warming, lead and gasoline, etc. Now women's health.If we want to know what is happening the first step is to divorce oneself from assumptions. This may be a result of political actions, but there has not been a scientific investigation to rule out things other than politics. Is there in fact an increase in infant mortality? We have percentages true, but what if the data acquisition methods were changed? Is that the case? No friggin clue, but the first thing I'd do is make sure the statistical basis for this determination is consistent with other time periods. This has happened before.
He isn't wrong that the statistic gathering method should be verified (and probably already has been, by people doing this) prior to making claims of proof/methods of remediation. Of course, that doesn't need to be drawn out into a multi-year (decade?) long event of questioning everything that doesn't fall in with a particular party line.Heard same right wing BS on smoking, global warming, lead and gasoline, etc. Now women's health.
Interesting info. I imagine it's being taken into account, but could an increase in immigration from Mexico/further south contribute I wonder? Most of those migrating are probably not in the best health, due to income inequality/poor care wherever they are from. I don't know if that would contribute in a large way however.
Declining personal health (primarily from obesity) and, as senseamp pointed towards, reduced access to Planned Parenthood clinics are probably the primary factors.
That may be the case for Texas, but I doubt for the rest of the country.
As an example, minorities experienced a larger increase in mortality rate, yet 70% or more of minorities live in major urban areas, I don't think those areas in the timeframe of 2000-2014 experienced PP funding cuts.
I don't remember very loud people in positions of power verifying statistics when deciding to block a thing that their paychecks depended on.
But members of the Texas task force cautioned against pinning too much blame for the increased mortality on the budget cuts. Lisa Hollier, the task force's chair, pointed out that the increase noted by the national researchers began at the start of 2011, while cuts to the women’s health program did not take effect until September of that year.
“Maternal mortality is incredibly complex, and there isn’t going to be a single thing that is the cause,” she said. Hanke said attributing the increase solely to the 2011 budget cuts “would not be justified.”
Maybe Republicans should go look at these statistics and make sure their pro-life policies aren't killing poor women. I don't think Jesus was big on that.
There is no reason why we can't work to fund these important programs without jumping to conclusions on this specific study. The programs you cite (and others) are important standing on their own merit. There's no reason to skip careful consideration of the data and their significance.I don't remember Republicans verifying statistics when deciding to block Medicaid expansion or gut women's health through Planned Parenthood.