Background
While maternal mortality is decreasing in most countries, maternal death rates in the U.S. have been increasing and Texas is recognized as having the highest maternal death rate in the country. Texas’ own study on maternal deaths indicates that Texas’ rates have nearly doubled in recent years. Some of the leading factors contributing to Texas’ maternal deaths include drug overdose, cardiac events, hypertension/eclampsia, and hemorrhage — factors that require the care and treatment of a physician and health care team. And with most maternal deaths occurring many months after childbirth, coordinated and comprehensive postpartum care provided by a physician is essential for the early identification and monitoring of health issues and complications that can develop post childbirth. Individual behavioral factors that put women at risk of maternal illness such as smoking, drug use, and obesity further complicate the care of the woman, and the need for comprehensive and timely community support and care even months after giving birth.
Read the following TMA articles:
TMA’s Maternal Health Congress Turns Spotlight on Saving New Moms (Texas Medicine Today, March 27, 2018)