New moms in Georgia were increasingly likely to die from pregnancy over the last two decades, so much so that their rate of death from pregnancy rose more steeply than almost all other states in the U.S., according to new data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington and Harvard University’s Mass General Brigham.
The new study adds to a growing mountain of data on the issue, showing most of the deaths are preventable: Patients complain of symptoms but aren’t believed. Patients have dangerous symptoms but don’t know it. Care is sparse. New moms get isolated at home and fall through the cracks.
The study, published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), looked at increases in maternal mortality between 1999 and 2019. Georgia ranked in the top five worst states for Asian and Pacific Islander moms; for Hispanic moms; for Black moms and for white moms. White moms had the highest rate of maternal deaths increase among those groups, rising more than 135% in Georgia and each of the five top states. Even with the increase Black women were more likely to die from pregnancy. In 1999, Black women in Georgia were four times more likely to die from pregnancy than white women. In 2019, Black women were almost two times more likely to die from pregnancy than white women.
The new study is the first such analysis for every state, showing long-term trends in maternal mortality and differences in each by racial and ethnic groups. It used deeper statistical methods to flesh out data from underreported states and show that different racial groups often have different factors at play.
The data used in the study stopped prior to the pandemic in 2019. National data show maternal mortality increased in 2020 and 2021 when it was harder to access health care. The pandemic also hindered some prevention efforts to decrease the deaths of Black women. Dr. Allison Bryant, senior medical director for health equity at Mass General Brigham and co-first author, said the pandemic may have widened the disparities seen in this study.
Based on the CDC’s combined data for the years 2018 to 2021, Georgia had the seventh-highest maternal mortality rate in the nation — around 34 per 100,000 births.
The CDC defines maternal mortality as deaths that occur during pregnancy or in the months following pregnancy that are due to a condition caused or aggravated by pregnancy. A staggering number of maternal deaths in the U.S. were found to be preventable — 84% of cases were due to preventable causes, according to a CDC report.
“In the U.S., maternal deaths are often caused by vascular diseases like severe high blood pressure or blood clots. So maternal deaths share many of the same drivers as heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure,” said Greg Roth, director of the program in cardiovascular health metrics at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. “Our state-by-state research emphasizes where we need to focus our prevention efforts and which groups are suffering the most.”
According to the CDC, common causes of maternal death include hemorrhage; mental health conditions; cardiomyopathy; cardiovascular or coronary conditions; blood clots; and preeclampsia (a disorder involving high blood pressure in pregnancy) or eclampsia (seizures).
Two recent developments in Georgia are aimed at improving health outcomes of pregnant women. Medicaid health insurance coverage for poor mothers was extended to a full year after giving birth, up from 6 months. With 54% of all births in Georgia covered by Medicaid, the additional months of coverage is expected to make a difference. And a new home visit pilot program for families with new babies was allocated $1.7 million in the state budget for the upcoming fiscal year. It is expected to begin during the coming weeks with five nurses and six community health workers.
About the Author
