A harrowing journey through Houston’s health care system offers an inside look at why so many women are dying after giving birth. A little after dark, Ebonie Chandler finally had a chance to relax. She had spent the past three days trying to enroll her five-year-old daughter, Blessn, in school, only to get the runaround. It was May 20, 2017, and Ebonie and her two youngest children had been living in Houston for a month. read more…
Life-threatening pregnancy complications on the rise in Harris County
Life-threatening, pregnancy-related complications — the iceberg beneath the surface of the U.S. maternal health crisis — are on the rise in Harris County, according to a new report. The report not only confirmed the Harris County rate is worse than that of the state and nation, it found that it increased more than 50 percent between 2008 and 2015. Texas’ rate of life-threatening, pregnancy-related complications went up 15 percent in the same time period. read more…
Harris County moms suffer preventable pregnancy complications at unacceptable rates [Editorial]
A University of Texas study this past fall on severe maternal morbidity — the clinical term for serious pregnancy complications — found that Texas mothers had a rate higher than the national average. Though Harris County boasts some of the world’s best hospitals and research centers, the morbidity rate here jumped an astounding 53 percent between 2008 and 2015. That year, 2.4 percent of Harris County pregnancies had severe complications, the study found. read more…
Texas isn’t the ‘worst,’ but moms are still dying
It’s good news that Texas’ maternal mortality rate is much lower than previously believed, allowing the Lone Star State to shed the shameful, and apparently erroneously bestowed, distinction of having one of the highest rates in the world. The bad news is that women are still dying. read more…
Texas pregnancy-related deaths inflated, new study finds
Texas’ crisis of pregnancy-related deaths is not nearly as bad as previously reported, according to a new study. The new data, calculated by state health officials and published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology Monday, found the actual number of maternal deaths is less than half that reported in a 2016 study that drew national attention to the issue in Texas. read more…
Help moms with maternal health
It’s true that far too many Texas mothers die during pregnancy or within a year following giving birth and that African-American Texans are at greatest risk. However, a new study has found that the data underlying these disturbing headlines is imprecise, with the study’s co-author noting that she was surprised at “just how bad the data was.” read more…
Dangerous Deliveries: Is Texas Doing Enough To Stop Moms From Dying?
Across the United States, maternal mortality — when a mother dies from pregnancy-related complications while pregnant or within 42 days of giving birth — jumped by 27 percent between 2000 and 2014, according to a 2016 study published in the medical journal Obstetrics and Gynecology. But researchers were stunned by Texas, where the maternal mortality rate had apparently doubled between 2010 and 2012. That year, 148 women died as the state’s mortality rate hit its highest level since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started recordkeeping with its current disease codes in 1999. read more…