COVID-19 contributed to a quarter of all maternal deaths in the U. S. It was in the U. S. last year and in 2020, according to a surveillance report.
The report, released Wednesday morning through the U. S. Government Accountability Office. The U. S. Department of Health, a nonpartisan government audit agency, points to major disparities in maternal mortality during the pandemic and how the coronavirus has contributed to maternal deaths overall.
Of the 1178 maternal deaths reported last year, COVID-19 contributed to 401, according to the report. In 2020, the virus is responsible for almost 12% of maternal deaths.
COVID-19 contributed to approximately 25% of the more than 2000 maternal deaths in the two years combined.
Other pregnant people are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. During the pandemic, maternal deaths have risen sharply and disparities have widened. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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While the report breaks down COVID-19 deaths among pregnant women by race and ethnicity, the authors looked at overall disparities developing amid the pandemic.
Hispanic and Latina women have noticed a significant increase in deaths: their rate increased from 12. 6 to 18 deaths consistent with 100,000 between 2019 and the first year of the pandemic to just 28 deaths consistent with 100,000 last year. Black women also continue to die at nearly 3 times the rate of white mothers, and Indigenous women are more than twice as likely to die.
COVID-19 can contribute to pregnancy complications, serious illness and death, the report says. Research has shown that pregnant Hispanic women account for a higher percentage of COVID-19 cases compared to non-Hispanic pregnant women.
Dr. Maureen G. Phipps, executive director of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, told USA TODAY that the knowledge supports expectations that the pandemic would worsen into a national maternal mortality crisis.
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More work needs to be done to address the “complex factors” that lead to poor maternal health, Phipps said.
“This new knowledge through 2021 is a big fear for us with a significant increase in maternal deaths among blacks and Latinos, as well as an increase in overall mortality,” he said, noting that structural racism and longstanding inequalities in care play a role. leading role in disparities.
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The GAO investigation commissioned through Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, chairwoman of the U. S. House of Representatives Oversight and Reform Committee. Rep. Lauren Underwood, co-chair of the Black Maternal Health Caucus, introduced the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021. is the first in a three-part GAO investigation into maternal deaths in the United States.
“We are facing an outsized maternal mortality crisis in this country, which is much worse for communities of color,” Maloney told USA TODAY, adding that he hopes the report will help pass the Momnibus bill. “Data drives action. It’s hard to get anyone to act without smart data.
Underwood said the country wants to invest in evidence-based strategies and called the GAO’s findings “deeply troubling. “
Contact Nada Hassanein on nhassanein@usatoday. com or on Twitter @nhassanein_.