OLYMPIA, Wash – Care quality, financial barriers and lack of healthcare access contributed to pregnancy-related deaths in Washington and nearly all of those deaths were preventable.
The findings of a new report released by the Washington Department of Health examines maternal deaths in Washington between 2021-2022. The Maternal Mortality Review Panel Report shows maternal deaths were up in that period.
Nearly half of the pregnant women who died suffered behavior-related deaths, which the panel classifies as suicide, homicide and accidental overdose.
American Indian and Alaska Native communities had the highest mortality rate, with the risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes 7.3 times higher than that of non-Hispanic white people.
People in rural areas experienced higher rate of maternal death than people not in rural areas.
The leading underlying cause of pregnancy-related death was accidental overdose. The report says most of deaths involved fentanyl.
The next leading causes of death were COVID-19, cardiovascular conditions, suicide and blood clots.
“The Maternal Mortality Review Panel Report helps us understand how to make pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care better for people in Washington,” said Lacy Fehrenbach, Chief of Prevention, Safety and Health, DOH. “To improve outcomes, we need to tackle the systemic issues that drive inequities—things like making sure people have stable housing, enough food, and access to health care that fits their culture and needs, including vaccines and mental and behavioral health services.”
The report issued several recommendations, including improving health care access in rural areas, strengthening support services like doulas and home visits and providing culturally relevant care.
You can read the report and recommendations at this link.
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