
A new study shows an alarming trend in the United States when it comes to pregnant women.
An alarming new report shows that the maternal death rate in Texas nearly doubled between 2010 and 2012, right around the time that women’s health funding was cut statewide, particularly at Planned Parenthood. But evidence is growing that this is a nationwide trend as well — and it’s a trend that’s causing a lot of concern among experts.
The study was published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, and it found that a total of 148 women in Texas died in 2012 from a complication related to their pregnancy. In 2010, the figure was just 72 deaths.
It’s part of a dubious image for the United States as a whole, as the U.S. is the only developed country in the world that has seen a jump in maternal deaths between 1993 and 2013 based on World Health Organization statistics.
The objective of the study was to “develop methods for trend analysis of vital statistics maternal mortality data, taking into account changes in pregnancy question formats over time and between states, and to provide an overview of U.S. maternal mortality trends from 2000 to 2014,” the paper states.
“This observational study analyzed vital statistics maternal mortality data from all U.S. states in relation to the format and year of adoption of the pregnancy question. Correction factors were developed to adjust data from before the standard pregnancy question was adopted to promote accurate trend analysis,” the paper continues. “The estimated maternal mortality rate (per 100,000 live births) for 48 states and Washington, DC (excluding California and Texas, analyzed separately) increased by 26.6%, from 18.8 in 2000 to 23.8 in 2014. California showed a declining trend, whereas Texas had a sudden increase in 2011–2012. Analysis of the easurement change suggests that U.S. rates in the early 2000s were higher than previously reported.”
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