Colorado’s maternal death rate is rising Study raises concerns

BY JENNIFER BROWN THE COLORADO SUN

About a quarter of Colorado pregnant women on Medicaid insurance do not go to a doctor’s appointment during the rst trimester, a statistic that likely contributes to the state’s rising maternal death rate. at’s according to the latest “maternal health equity report” from the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, which matched health records with 2020 birth certi cates across the state. e Medicaid program, called Health First Colorado, covers 40% of all births in the state, or nearly 26,000 births in 2020.

e maternal death rate examines the time period of a pregnancy through one year following the birth.