For pregnant women and those who have recently given birth, the coronavirus pandemic coupled with the realities of social distancing present a lot of unforeseen challenges, concerns and ambiguity in terms of pregnancy, delivery and postpartum. Being pregnant during a pandemic may mean more than just having to cancel your baby shower and your reoccurring...
Category: Maternal mortality and morbidity
December 2, 2019
Report on Ohio’s maternal deaths provides look at contributing factors, makes recommendations for improvement
In mid-November, the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) released a long-awaited comprehensive report on maternal mortality in Ohio. The report shows that there were 610 pregnancy-associated deaths, of which 186 were pregnancy-related, in Ohio between 2008 and 2016. The report finds that Black women were two and half times more likely to die of a...
October 21, 2019
Ohio awarded federal grants to address, study maternal health
By: Tara Britton, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy Hope Lane, Public Policy & External Affairs Associate Ohio was recently notified that it will receive two new federal grants to address maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity in the state. These grants come from two separate agencies within the U.S. Department of Health and Human...
October 7, 2019
Racial Disparities in Infant Mortality Focus of ‘Toxic: A Black Woman’s Story’
Last week, First Year Cleveland through their Pregnancy And Infant Loss Initiative (PAIL), debuted a short film that tells the story of infant loss from a black women’s perspective. As the film website explains, the film invites the viewer to “Follow Nina in this day-in-the-life drama, and see the world through the eyes of a...
July 17, 2019
Ohio’s budget codifies the pregnancy associated mortality review committee
As the state responds to the high infant mortality rate, national reports have increasingly called attention to maternal deaths related to pregnancy, as well as severe maternal morbidity. The executive budget included language supporting the pregnancy associated mortality review process (PAMR) in Ohio, including a representative committee. The Center for Community Solutions began to explore...
April 15, 2019
Tracking data on maternal mortality and morbidity should be a priority in Ohio
The Center for Community Solutions and other Ohio advocates have called for the prioritization of maternal health, at a level parallel to the focus on infant health in Ohio. Maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity (described as ‘near misses’) have increased nationally and due to delays in data collection and dissemination in Ohio it has...
March 27, 2019
Maternal health in Ohio listening session hosted by Minority Leader Emilia Sykes
By Tara Britton, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy Melissa Federman, Treuhaft Chair for Health Planning In January, Minority Leader Emilia Sykes (D-Akron) hosted a listening session specific to maternal health in Ohio. Sykes was joined by 14 House Democrats – all women – and State Senator Stephanie Kunze (R-Hilliard). Both Sykes and Kunze have recently been...
March 26, 2019