Georgia’s high rate of pregnancy-related deaths, amid similar issues nationwide, is gaining the attention of national healthcare organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. In a series of national funding announcements Tuesday from federal health agencies, the CDC awarded $3.1 million to Georgia’s Department of Public Health.
The state DPH office will receive $620,000 annually for five years as part of the CDC’s $118.5 million effort to better identify and prevent pregnancy-related deaths across the country. The state plans to use the money to continue the work of the Georgia Maternal Mortality Review Committee, which studies pregnancy-related deaths and recommends programs and policies to prevent deaths. Some of the committee’s suggestions have resulted in expanded services and initiatives improving maternal health.
For example, the committee identified hemorrhage as a leading cause of maternal death in the state. As a result of those findings, Georgia birthing hospitals added obstetric carts with supplies needed to better respond to hemorrhage emergencies, the CDC reported.
Also Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced more than $558 million in funding for home visiting programs for new and pregnant moms, infants and children.
Georgia’s rate of preterm births, infant and maternal mortality are higher than the national average, according to the March of Dimes. The nonprofit that tries to improve healthcare for mothers and children recently gave the state an “F” on its 2023 scorecard for preterm births.
Georgia had a “fairly high” maternal mortality rate of 32.1 deaths per 100,000 live births between 2018 and 2022, according to the CDC’s latest research. Nationally, the maternal mortality rate for 2022 was 22.3 deaths per 100,000 live births. The state also has the ninth-highest infant mortality rate in the country, with about seven babies dying for every 1,000 live births.
Maternal mortality is the measure of mothers’ deaths during pregnancy or within a year of the end of a pregnancy when the death is caused by a complication of the woman being pregnant, a chain of events that began as a result of the woman being pregnant, or the aggravation of an unrelated condition by the effects of pregnancy. Infant mortality is the measure of how many babies die before they reach their first birthday.
About half of the nation’s pregnancy-related deaths occur one week to one year after delivery, the CDC reports. A CDC report released earlier this year looking at maternal deaths in 2020 also found that more than 80% of 525 pregnancy-related deaths in 38 states that year were preventable.
The CDC’s $3.1 million investment in Georgia’s public health will help expand the work of the state’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee. In 2019, the CDC began investing in the review committees, made up of healthcare providers such as doctors, nurses and public health workers. The committees identify pregnancy-related deaths. determine causes and contributing factors and whether the deaths were preventable.
“We can’t prevent what we don’t measure,” said Shanna Cox, associate director of science for the CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health. “We can’t identify the best strategies [for prevention] without understanding the circumstances around the death.”
Among its findings, the Georgia Maternal Mortality Review Committee determined that heart-related issues are among the leading causes of pregnancy-related deaths in the state, Cox said. The committee shares its findings with OB-GYNs and doctors to ensure they identify pregnant patients with conditions known to contribute to maternal deaths. The committee’s findings also help raise awareness about the need to educate patients and healthcare providers about early warning signs of potential cardiovascular complications, she said.
At least one nonprofit is using committee findings to create a program addressing maternity care. The March of Dimes recently launched an awareness campaign to educate women and families about the benefits of low-dose aspirin to reduce risks of cardiovascular-related pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia, said Tamara Currin, the nonprofit’s director of state government affairs who oversees Georgia. Preeclampsia is a potentially fatal condition that causes a pregnant woman’s blood pressure to rise and can lead to preterm birth, heart disease, and other complications, the nonprofit reports.
“We are excited about the level of funding drilling down to the states looking at maternal mortality,” Currin said. “We recognize the health of the mom and the baby are interconnected.”
The Georgia DPH grant, extending CDC funding it received the past three years, will allow its staff to provide maternal health data to the state’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee, said Nancy Nydam, spokesperson for the public health agency. “These staff also speak to families who have experienced a maternal loss. It gives them the opportunity to hear firsthand stories from families that guide policy and education in the hope of preventing additional losses.”
Through its initiatives, the CDC hopes to better understand what causes maternal mortality, pregnancy complications, and associated disparities. For instance, review committees can determine if race, ethnicity, or age disparities contributed to maternal mortality rates and suggest ways to reduce preventable deaths.
The latest CDC and HHS funding to eliminate maternal mortality and improve maternal care nationwide supports the White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis.
As part of the HHS funding, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is allocating more than $440 million to expand its home visiting services for eligible families across the country. The program that supports pregnant and new moms, infants and children improves maternal and child health, child development and school readiness, according to the HHS.
Families with young children can participate in home visiting programs, working with health, social services, and early child development professionals to help improve their physical, social, and emotional health. HHS says the program contributed to improved school readiness and women’s health, increased health insurance coverage, and prevented child injuries, abuse, and neglect.
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