Maternal Mortality

Lookbook Vol. 2

p. 54

DEFINITION

Number of deaths from any cause related to or aggravated by pregnancy or its management (excluding accidental or incidental causes) during pregnancy and childbirth or within one year of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, per 100,000 live births (5-year estimate from 2013-2017).23

33.9 deaths per 100,000 women

29.6 deaths per 100,000 women

OKLAHOMA

NATIONAL AVERAGE

Data Highlight:

Nationwide, Maternal Mortality is three times more common for Black and Indigenous women than White women. Oklahoma is ranked 38 (of 50) for its maternal mortality outcomes. Alaska has the best outcomes at an average of 12.4 deaths per 100,000 live births per year, and Louisiana ranks the worst at 72 deaths per 100,000 live births per year. 23

Why We Care:

“I was starting to think I might not be around to raise my daughter,” accounted Whitney, an expecting mother and PhD candidate who recalls poor healthcare interactions during unexpected complications throughout her pregnancy. 79 Whitney’s story personifies how Black women, even when highly educated, in good health, and financially stable, are still far more likely to die due to complications from childbirth than White women of lesser education and financial stability. 78 In Oklahoma Black and Indigenous women are three times more likely to die from childbirth or childbirth-related complications than their White counterparts. 78,79,93 The Oklahoma Legislature passed a bill in 2019 establishing a Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC). Since November of 2019, the MMRC has been reviewing, identifying, and providing recommendations to address the underlying, preventable causes contributing to the death of Oklahoma mothers. States that previously established these committees have found that most maternal mortality was preventable and made changes accordingly. 93,94 These changes have decreased rates of morbidity, too, which is defined as “severe, near-death experiences”. Though morbidity does not end in death, many situations causing morbidity could end in mortality if they’re not caught and addressed soon enough to save a mother. 93

What We Can Do:

- Work to require providers at all levels of care to complete a series of bias training on a regular basis to be aware of how their biases present in their patient interactions and dialogue - Support organizations working on reproductive justice issues and reducing Black and Indigenous maternal mortality - Improve measurement of severe, birth-related, near death experiences women in our state face each year