Nursing Students Tapped to Help Address Maternal Mortality

• The U.S. maternal mortality rate in 2021 was nearly 33 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Sixteen universities nationwide have received federal grant funds to address the issue of maternal mortality.
• A study published in “The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology” contradicts the CDC data on maternal mortality.

The U.S. maternal mortality rate in 2021 was nearly 33 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. And 16 universities have been afforded the opportunity to address the issue. 

The U.S. Health and Human Services Department’s Health Resources and Services Administration program for maternal and child health issued grants to the institutions as part of the White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis. 

“At the Health Resources and Services Administration, we are laser-focused on reversing this crisis by expanding access to maternal care, growing the maternal care workforce, supporting moms experiencing maternal depression, and addressing the important social supports that are vital to safe pregnancies” HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson said in a news release. “We know it will take a sustained approach to reduce and eliminate maternal health disparities and we are committed to this work.” 

Universities Collaborate with Community Partners

The Texas A&M University School of Nursing received a nearly $2.3 million grant for its community-based program, Community Hands Advancing Maternal Health Promotion (CHAMPions).

“The collaboration among our partners underscores the critical importance of better understanding and addressing the root causes of maternal mortality and morbidity,” Associate Professor Robin Page said in a news release. “This hub-and-spoke model is attracting a lot of attention on a federal level and across the country for its progressive, collaborative methodology.” 

Through the program, “maternal-child navigators” – nurses, social workers, and community health workers – will visit “underserved mothers’ homes during pregnancy and their first year postpartum,” the release stated. The healthcare workers will provide health education and advice and engage in community outreach to raise awareness of maternal health risks.

The CHAMPions project also includes: Texas A&M School of Public Health, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Driscoll Children’s Hospital, Driscoll Health Plan, and the Global Institute for Hispanic Health.

Meanwhile, Florida International University’s Center for Women’s and Gender Studies received a five-year, $2.45 million grant for its Black Mothers Care Plan program. 

The funding allows FIU researchers and community partners to “investigate how mobile and household-centered doula and midwifery care impacts black maternal health outcomes and experiences,” according to a news release. 

FIU’s principal investigator Okezi Otovo, an associate professor of African and African Diaspora Studies and an affiliate faculty member for the CWGS, said in the release that the project will look at Miami-Dade County’s community-based care models to determine how that dynamic “leads to better outcomes.”

“There’s lots of research about community care models and why they help to improve health outcomes for mothers and babies,” Otovo said. “There are fewer community care studies that look directly at the populations that are most at risk of maternal mortality and morbidity in the U.S., which in our country are Black and indigenous mothers.” 

Data Disparities in Maternal Mortality

Following the CDC’s data release last March, a follow-up study conducted by a collection of universities found that the maternal death rates might be “sharply overstated.” 

The study, published in “The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,” determined rates to be at roughly 10 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, compared to the CDC’s account of 32.9. 

“Our study, which identified maternal deaths using a pragmatic definition-based methodology, showed stable rates of maternal mortality and a reduction in deaths from obstetrical complications,” said K. S. Joseph, lead author of the study and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of British Columbia, Canada, in a Rutgers Health news release. “Moreover, the analysis by cause-of-death provides evidence that can enable focused prevention initiatives targeted at high-risk and vulnerable subpopulations.”

A CDC spokesperson said in a statement to NPR that the organization disagreed with the study’s findings and that the study’s methods “are known to produce a substantial undercount of maternal mortality.” 

The Bottom Line

The White House has made it a priority to address maternal mortality and morbidity in the United States. Regardless of conflicting accounts and methodologies used in reporting maternal mortality, the issue remains. Federal grant funding issued to universities nationwide is expected to help research causes, increase awareness of potential maternal health complications and to improve access to care. 

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