Former ACOG President, Dr. Haywood Brown said, “The relationship between stress and how we respond to that stress physiologically has well-documented associations with prematurity and cardiovascular disease. The “microaggressions” that black women endure throughout their lives also make them predisposed to chronic conditions that can make a pregnancy high risk, such as hypertension and diabetes. It is a failure in our medical care as providers if we do not 1) recognize and accept this and 2) meet the necessary cultural and systemic challenges that impact health outcomes.”
As powerful as his statement is, it begs the question “What’s being done now?”
As the lead partner in The Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM), ACOG has remained at the forefront of efforts to improve maternal mortality. AIM is a national data-driven maternal safety and quality improvement initiative focused on areas like obstetric hemorrhage, severe hypertension, venous thromboembolism, reduction of primary cesarean births and reduction of racial disparities during pregnancy contributing to maternal morbidity and mortality. Since its formation in 2014, AIM has developed multiple evidence-based, patient safety bundles which are made freely available to any interested US birth centers in the currently partnered states. (Below is a map of currently enrolled states and reach out to your specific state or local birth centers to see if they are involved).
In December 2018, the Preventing Maternal Deaths Act was passed and made law. It set standards for State Maternal Mortality review committees that required confidential case reporting of pregnancy-associated deaths. It allowed for reporting to be done by health agencies or even family members of the deceased. Additionally, it required each review committee to submit to the CDC an annual report of their data, findings, and recommendations for the year 2019 and beyond. (Refer below for more details.)
It’s great that the federal government and healthcare organizations are addressing maternal mortality, but many still wonder if more can be done. My next post will discuss what you may be able to do to decrease your individual risks.
