Study: Rate of maternal mortality doubles in Texas

A recent study found the rate of deaths of new mothers doubled in Texas.

Maternal mortality is defined as a death that may or may not be related to the pregnancy, but happens up to a year after giving birth.

Researchers from the University of Maryland published their findings in August. They found Texas had the most remarkable jump of pregnant and new mother dying compared to other states. The number doubled from 2010 to 2014 from nearly 18 to 36 deaths per 100,000 births. The statistics prompted Maryland researchers calling the high numbers “an international embarrassment.”

At 10 weeks pregnant, Jessica Velazquez is excited for what’s to come. The young mother told ABC-7 that she knows pregnancy comes with risks.

“This is my second pregnancy and the first one I had a few complications,” Velazquez said.

“I actually lost a friend while she was pregnant. She passed away,” Velazquez added. “And seeing that — that was a huge eye-opener.”

The fear of facing more complications prompted Velazquez to turn to her family member and obstetrician-gynecologist, Dr. Maria Velazquez.

“It always amazes me that people think that pregnancy is very routine,” Dr. Velazquez told ABC-7. “(It amazes me when people say) that it’s natural, and that everything happens to a woman’s body the way it should, and if a woman listens to her body then everything will be fine.”

Dr. Velazquez specializes in high-risk pregnancies and called the study’s results a “wake up call.”

“Our population has so many risk factors already: the poor diet, the obesity, the diabetes, the hypertension,” she said.

The ob-gyn speculated that economics may also have played a role in the high mortality rate.

“If that patient doesn’t have the funds to (treat) a high-risk condition … a lot of times they’ll end up with an unplanned pregnancy, or with a pregnancy that needs special care,” Dr. Velazquez said. “Either they don’t qualify for assistance and go without prenatal care, or they don’t have the care after they deliver, which was identified as a critical period when these maternal deaths are occurring.”

A less-publicized report by the Texas Department of Health Services released in the spring of 2016 found that heart failure, drug overdose and pregnancy-related illness were leading causes of deaths.

Research teams from Texas and Maryland agreed that issues regarding how the data is recorded may have led to underreporting of maternal deaths before 2011.

The results of the study frustrate Dr. Eva Moya, an assistant professor in UTEP’s Department of Social Work. But they don’t seem to surprise her, as she pointed out that the state made cuts to funding that supports sexual health and women.

“Any cut that we have in health, like in education, we end up paying a price,” Moya told ABC-7.

Moya also serves as the associate dean of health sciences at UTEP. She helped publish a study of women’s health after the state ordered cuts to funding of Planned Parenthood in 2011. She and fellow researchers interviewed found that a majority of women they interviewed put their health to the side until they had an emergency.

“Women are … coming to us when they’re sick or they have a sexually-transmitted infection,” Moya said. “It’s clear that what the women were asking (the state) to make services accessible, make them available … and we’ll pay for services.”

Moya — along with the state and national researchers — believe some deaths could be prevented if women were screened earlier for mental health issues, drug abuse and domestic violence.

ABC-7 checked on El Paso’s maternal mortality rate. A spokesman with the Department of Public Health said the county’s rate matches the state’s.

State legislators recently received an update on the state program dedicated to improving the health of women.

Sen. Jose Rodriguez attended a hearing to update state legislators about the status of the Healthy Texas Women program in September. The program was created after the state cut funding to Planned Parenthood in 2011. During the hearing, it was announced that the state has enrolled about 5,000 providers into the program. In a statement, Rodriguez said it is not clear how many of the providers have have seen patients, submitted claims within the last two years, or have the capacity to see more patients.

In a statement, Rodriguez said 53 percent of Texas seeking reproductive health services struggle to get the care they need, adding, “We can change the names of programs, redirect funds all we want, but we aren’t solving the root problem – refusing to include qualified medical providers, who have a history of serving thousands of patients and serving them well, in state women’s health programs.

“Instead of awarding contracts to politically-motivated, ideologically-driven organizations that have no prior experience providing reproductive health services, the state should be directing health care dollars to qualified medical providers and all qualified medical providers should be allowed to participate in state programs.”

Rodriguez is urging those overseeing the Healthy Texas Women program to conduct a detailed assessment to determine what needs to be done to provide more care to women in the state.

Meantime, Jessica Velazquez is taking her doctor’s advice, and focusing on how she approaches her health.

“I take regular walks, I take my prenatal vitamins and I’ve changed up my diet,” Jessica said. “I think once you do find out you’re pregnant, you shouldn’t take it lightly.”