According to the CDC, over 80% of maternal deaths in the United States are preventable. To prevent these tragic deaths, which are occurring at increasing rates, we must first know why they’re happening.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and their partners from across the country, have deemed January 23 #MaternalHealthAwarenessDay, to help drive attention to the United States maternal mortality crisis.
To begin to understand how hospitals and healthcare workers can help eliminate preventable maternal mortality we’ve listed five goals that can — and should — be taken to help stop preventable pregnancy-related deaths:
Eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in maternal mortality.
- Maternal mortality disparities are directly tied to social, demographic, and geographic factors, so reducing disparities is integral to reducing maternal mortality rates.
Invest in and partner with communities.
- Working with communities includes understanding their viewpoints and incorporating their priority issues, needs, and strengths into strategies and initiatives, which can help ensure alignment that leads to the greatest impacts.
Ensure access to care for all pregnant and postpartum mothers.
- Maternal health outcomes are dependent on access to care across a mother’s life course – including prenatal, labor and delivery, and postpartum. By reducing barriers to access and supporting health and well-being throughout pregnancy and beyond, we can bolster overall maternal health.
Ensure quality maternal care.
- Quality care for pregnant and postpartum mothers is characterized by being safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable, and these improvements in care quality may reduce maternal mortality by as much as half.
Strengthen maternal mortality data.
- Strengthening maternal mortality data ensures you have complete and accurate data on impacted populations to fully understand how contributing factors and recommendations may differ by race, ethnicity, geography, or some other characteristic.
Understanding the U.S. maternal mortality crisis is the first step toward eliminating preventable maternal deaths. Together, we can ensure that more American children and families grow up knowing their moms.