Maternal mortality rates rose nearly 40% in the current year of the pandemic, widening disparities as black women faced disproportionate and alarming rates, according to a new federal analysis.
In 2021, there were about 33 maternal deaths consistent with 100,000 live births, a 38 percent increase from last year, according to the report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.
Experts say it’s very likely COVID-19 contributed to the increases, but sobering rates continue to reveal deep flaws in fitness systems, such as structural racism, implicit bias, and loss of attention to communities.
“The accumulation of approximately 40 percent of preventable deaths over the past year is startling news,” Dr. Iffath Abbasi Hoskins, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said in an interview with USA TODAY.
The rates “send a strong message” that maternal fitness and evidence-based efforts to eliminate racial disparities will need to remain at the forefront of public fitness priorities, Hoskins said.
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Most maternal deaths, which occur during pregnancy, hard work or within 42 days of birth, according to the CDC, are preventable. The maternal mortality rate in the United States remains higher than in other rich and developed countries, and new knowledge shows an accumulation of about 60% in overall rates in 2021 compared to 2019, the year before the pandemic began.
“It’s devastating,” said Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha, a maternal fitness specialist and professor, founding director of Tufts University’s Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice.
“It’s more lives damaged. More lives are damaged. More lives are largely destroyed by preventable deaths. “
A total of 1205 women died from maternal reasons in 2021, 861 in 2020 and 754 in 2019.
Maternal mortality rates among all racial teams experienced statistically significant increases, according to the analysis:
While black women gave birth less between 2021 and 2020, death rates were higher.
“This reverse dating underscores the enormity of the problem,” Amutah-Onukagha said, noting that rates may be underestimated due to failures in death certificate notification and delays in knowledge gathering. a smaller population. . . . Inequality is rising.
The research also found that those over 40 outnumbered those under 25.
Pregnant women are more vulnerable to COVID-19, and the virus can contribute to severe headaches during pregnancy, according to the CDC.
“While we are still trying to better understand the factors driving this increase, we know that other pregnant or recently pregnant individuals are more likely to become seriously ill with COVID-19 than others who are not pregnant,” said Dr. Brown. Wanda Barfield, director of CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health. USA. U. S. TODAY.
A report from the U. S. Government Accountability OfficeThe U. S. Food and Drug Administration last year found that COVID-19 contributed to about a quarter of maternal deaths.
“The pandemic has resulted in a pathophysiology that puts these women at greater risk,” said Dr. Brown. Idalia Rosado-Torres, obstetrician and gynecologist at Chesapeake Regional Medical Center and director of the Ob-Hospitalist group.
Preeclampsia, for example, increases when a patient has COVID-19, she explained.
Barfield said other points at play also come with chronic illness pregnancy, access to quality and post-pregnancy care, and structural racism and implicit bias.
Reports have shown that disparities persist even when schooling or source of income are taken into account, reflecting potential bias in care. For example, college-educated black women have consistently died at higher rates than white women with the same level of schooling. Research also found that black toddlers are more likely when seen by black doctors.
More: COVID-19 contributed to a quarter of maternal deaths from 2020 to 2021
Dr. Veronica Gillispie-Bell, a senior manager for women at Ochsner Kenner in Louisiana, said systems want to prioritize equity and implement evidence-based practices, such as the Alliance for Maternal Health Innovation’s patient protection strategies.
“We also want to think about the other fitness formula spaces that our patients are preoccupying for pregnancy and the puerperium, adding the emergency room,” she said.
Improving care, Gillispie-Bell said, “can’t be limited to our maternity facilities. “
The continuation of deaths accentuates the national crisis of the disappearance of maternal health care.
Half of the country’s rural counties have obstetric care or an OB/GYN doctor, for example, and researchers have found that black communities are more likely to lose their obstetric units.
According to a USA TODAY analysis, about 2 million rural women of reproductive age are at least 25 miles from a hard work and cleanup unit. Some urban communities are also wasting their paints and cleaning units.
“These maternity care deserts are very problematic because it means other people have to do more to get care. People have to wait longer for appointments,” Amutah-Onukagha said. There is “a depletion of resources, infrastructure, in black and brown spaces where we are already seeing an increased likelihood or prevalence of chronic disease. “
The disappearance of care, coupled with the pandemic, is exacerbating the challenge for those already most at risk, Rosado-Torres said.
The shortage “insulates them from the care they need,” he said.
Contact Nada Hassanein on nhassanein@usatoday. com or on Twitter @nhassanein_.