In 2016, researchers discovered that maternal mortality rates in Texas doubled in a two-year period; in fact, the Texas rates looked so unusual, that the research team didn’t include it in their calculation of the national maternal mortality rate. However, they did not leave it there: Troubled by the unusual findings, the team put the Texas numbers from the last decade under the microscope.
After a closer look at the data, researchers believe that over-reporting of maternal deaths might be part of the problem. They point specifically to implausibly high death rates of women over 40 years, as well as rises in nonspecific causes of death. When the cause of death is not clearly specified, it is difficult to design programs and policies that address the underlying problem.
This highlights a double public health issue. First, even under conservative estimates, Texas mothers are dying at worrying rates. Second, strong public health surveillance at the local level is critical, and Texas lacks reliable state-level data to fully understand why maternal mortality rates have increased.
To situate what is happening in Texas, explore this recent report from the Population Reference Bureau, which discusses how increases in poverty rates, declines in high-wage jobs, rises in women’s incarceration, and increases in maternal mortality and women’s suicide have stalled women’s well-being in the United States over the past generation.