Maternal Mortality and Morbidity

COVID-19 Resources, All in One Place

 

As more reports come in on the spread of coronavirus COVID-19, TMA has convened a task force of public health experts to help Texas physicians prepare for the next phase. We’ve started by compiling all the news and information you need right now on our online resource center. Bookmark that page as we will update it continually.

COVID-19 Resource Center  

Preterm Births, Prenatal Care Still a Concern for Texas, Report Says

 

A new national report by the March of Dimes gave Texas a grade of D for its number of preterm births compared with other states and says Texas also is below the national average in prenatal care – both indicators of maternal health in the state.

Read More  

Saving Mothers’ Lives: Texas Physicians Prioritize Fighting Maternal Mortality and Morbidity

 

Texas has taken some big steps to combat maternal death and illness in recent years, says the vice chair of the Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee. But there's no doubt the state has many more steps to go.

Read More On the Fight  

Congress May Extend Postpartum Medicaid Coverage to 12 Months

 

Federal legislation could move Texas toward one of the Texas Medical Association’s long-time goals for improving maternal health – extending Medicaid postpartum coverage from two months to a full year.

Learn About the Bill  

CDC: Physicians Should “Strongly Recommend” COVID Vaccine for Pregnant People

 

In light of a low COVID-19 vaccination rate among people who are pregnant, and a recent high in COVID-19-related deaths among that population, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is asking health care professionals to “strongly recommend” the vaccine to people who are pregnant, trying to become pregnant, or might become pregnant in the future.

Read More  

New Rules Could Make It Harder to Enroll in Healthy Texas Women

 

Healthy Texas Women (HTW) has changed how it determines eligibility for low-income women who use the program, which could put a greater burden on physicians and other health care professionals who help patients get and stay with these services.

Read TMA's Concerns  

Want to know more about Healthy Texas Women and Family Planning in Texas?

This website includes the latest information from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission on the program eligibility process, patient benefits, program fact sheets, and outreach materials for three programs:

• Healthy Texas Women, 
• Family Planning, and
• Breast and Cervical Cancer Services

What else, you ask? You will find the updated version of THE TEXAS Long-Acting Reversible Contraception TOOLKIT which provides information that physicians and their teams can use to increase LARC availability and addresses some common billing and reimbursement questions. Interested in helping identify and provide treatment for women with postpartum depression? The Texas Clinician’s Postpartum Depression Toolkit (Vol2) is available to put all of the pieces together – from screening tools and treatment to coding and billing for uninsured and underinsured women.

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:

Bills Would Help Improve Maternal Health in Texas
(Texas Legislative Hotline, April 1, 2021)

Work to Improve Maternal Health for All Texans, Physician Tells TMA Members
(Texas Legislative Hotline, March 10, 2021)

TMA’s Maternal Health Congress Turns Spotlight on Saving New Moms 
(Texas Medicine Today, March 27, 2018)

A Disturbing Trend: Medicine Examineauses for Spike in Texas' Maternal Mortality Rate
(Texas Medicine, December 2016)

Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Forum

 

The Texas Medical Association (TMA) and the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) invited physicians, health care professionals, and public health experts to review the recent findings of the state’s Maternal and Morbidity Task Force, and the current state initiatives to address maternal health and safety. Three workgroups will identify challenges and develop action plans to reduce maternal deaths and morbidity through the areas of systems of care, public health systems, and data.

Get the Details Here  

Texas Looks for Answers

The Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Task Force was created by Senate Bill 495, which passed during the 83rd Legislative Session in 2013. The multidisciplinary task force studies and reviews cases of pregnancy-related deaths and trends in severe maternal morbidity, and makes recommendations to help reduce the incidence of pregnancy-related deaths and severe maternal morbidity in Texas.

DSHS Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Task Force

Maternal Mortality and Morbidity task force report  

Legislation: Senate Bill 495, 83rd, 2013; Senate Bill 1599, 85th , 2017; Senate Bill 17 85th (1), 2017

DSHS Grand Rounds, Healthy Texas Babies: Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review, May 14

Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Resources

• American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) – patient safety and quality improvement
• Council on Patient Safety in Women’s Health Care – Patient Safety Bundles
• California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative
• Oklahoma Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative 
•  Every Mother Counts Collaborative
• Perinatal Quality Collaborative of North Carolina