Texas must learn more about maternal deaths

In the wake of two startling reports on maternal mortality rates, the spotlight has turned to Texas and its alarming statistics.

In two years, the state’s maternal mortality rate doubled.

“The Texas data are puzzling in that they show a modest increase in maternal mortality from 2000 to 2010 … followed by a doubling within a 2-year period in the reported maternal mortality rate,” says a 2016 study from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

These statistics should trouble Texans.

Many might quickly assume there’s a correlation between the numbers and recent health clinic closings after changes in state funding.

That’s a significant leap, one that feels more convenient than accurate.

In both studies, the authors outline different factors in pregnancy-related deaths, but they can’t pinpoint why it’s increasing so fast.

A joint report from the Maternity Mortality and Morbidity Task Force and the Texas Department of Health Services narrowed its findings to four areas of “leading causes,” although they still feel too broad and in need of more research.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists study has a similar cast.

“Still, in the absence of war, natural disaster, or severe economic upheaval, the doubling of a mortality rate within a 2-year period in a state with almost 400,000 annual births seems unlikely. A future study will examine Texas data by race-ethnicity and detailed causes of death to better understand this unusual finding.”

But one thing both reports agree on is that the state’s records are subpar.

“The task force also found a lack of standardization in how maternal deaths are reported to the proper authority … leading to some maternal deaths being routed to the inappropriate system,” the task force report says.

This lack of diligence leaves Texas without information to pinpoint causes and find appropriate corrective measures.

“Had the National Center for Health Statistics and the Texas vital statistics office both been publishing annual maternal mortality rates, the unusual findings from Texas for 2011–2014 would certainly have been investigated much sooner and in greater detail,” says the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists study.

One of the task force recommendations calls for promoting “best practices on maternal death reporting.”

This should be the first step so Texas can better understand how to reverse the mortality trend.

This story was originally published September 6, 2016 at 5:58 PM with the headline "Texas must learn more about maternal deaths."