Government Accountability Office (GAO) Reports on Maternal Health: Outcomes Worsened and Disparities Persisted During the Pandemic

November 02, 2022 by Sarah Johanek, MPH in POLICY

A government report released in October confirms that during COVID, maternal health worsened, racial disparities grew, and rates of maternal mental health disorders rose.

Maternal deaths increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the pandemic was a contributing factor in 25% of all maternal deaths in 2020-2021, as found in the recent report published by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). GAO conducted this research because the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) includes a provision for GAO to report on its pandemic oversight efforts.

What We’re Reading

June 29, 2021 by Joy Burkhard, MBA in What We Are Reading

Here are the articles and reports that caught my eye in May and June. Highlights include two new reports - one by Rand making new policy recommendations to solve the mental health care delivery crisis, another from Well Being Trust, its annual report on deaths of despair. On a related note, a discussion on how the “pregnancy check box” on the death certificate has ‘conflated’ the U.S. maternal mortality rate. Additionally, new research suggests that screening for early breastfeeding struggles may help identify mothers who may be at risk for maternal mental health disorders. Finally, more articles below illustrate yet more heart-wrenching evidence surrounding maternal disparities among Black mothers.

Maternal Suicide: The US Should Measure What It Treasures

September 06, 2020 by Joy Burkhard, MBA

Background on General National Suicide Rates

Suicide is an urgent, complex public health crisis. More than 48,000 people died by suicide in the United States in 2018 (making it the 10th leading cause of death). Even more striking is that this rate has increased by one-third over the past 2 decades. Given the COVID pandemic and racial unrest, these rates are expected to rise first, before they come down.

The Latest Data on Maternal Mortality (Including Suicide) in the US & CA

July 10, 2019 by 2020 Mom in EMERGING CONSIDERATIONS

CDC’s Maternal Mortality Review Data Brief

The Federal agency, The Center for Disease Control (CDC) shared a new brief on Maternal Mortality Review (MMR) with updated 2008-2017 data on pregnancy-related deaths from 14 Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRCs). Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah voluntarily shared their data through the Maternal Mortality Review Information Application (MMRIA). MMRIA supports and standardizes record abstraction, documentation of committee decisions, and routine analyses.