When Alabama legislators approved a stripped-down state budget last week, they included nearly half a million dollars to investigate why Alabama women die from childbirth and pregnancy complications.
“Ultimately, until we have a thorough review of the maternal death data, we can’t answer the all-important question of ‘why’ when a mother dies,” said Dr. John Meigs, president of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama, which lobbied for the funding.
“Then (we can) take the steps necessary to decrease and hopefully eliminate maternal deaths.”
The state budget now goes to Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk with a line item for $478,000 to fund Alabama’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee, which was launched in early 2019 to investigate why Alabama mothers die from pregnancy and childbirth complications.
After reporting last year from AL.com highlighted the state’s lack of understanding about maternal death, and after lobbying by state medical and nonprofit organizations, Ivey included the $478,000 in her recommended budget.
Britta Cedergren, director of maternal child health and government affairs for the March of Dimes in Alabama, said she wanted to thank state leaders for leaving the funding in the budget.
“Alabama has some of the highest rates of preterm birth and infant mortality in the nation,” she said. “We know that the health of a baby is directly dependent on the health and well-being of its mother, and in our country, one woman dies every 12 hours from pregnancy related complications.”
The United States has the highest maternal death rate of any wealthy country and it’s been rising. And for every death there are as many as 100 cases of life-threatening pregnancy complications, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Maternal Mortality Review Committees are considered the gold standard for understanding maternal deaths and making recommendations on how to prevent them, according to CDC experts.
While many other states, including all of Alabama’s neighbors, have similar committees, Alabama launched its committee in early 2019 with volunteers, operating on a shoestring budget under the umbrella of the state health department.
The new funding will be used to pay for autopsies and medical records where needed, and to pay costs related to convening medical and public health professionals around the state to review medical records of women who died. The group will also make recommendations for improving maternal health in Alabama.
Similar committees in other states have produced recommendations that led to concrete, positive results.
California was one of the first states to launch a review committee. Since 2006, California cut its rate of women dying in childbirth by 55 percent, due in large part to its review committee identifying preventable complications that were killing mothers.
Texas created an early warning system for diagnosis and intervention after its committee found several healthcare provider and facility missteps associated with maternal death.
“A fully-funded and supported Maternal Mortality Review Committee is vital as we continue the fight to have healthy moms and strong babies here in Alabama,” said Cedergren.
Earlier this year, the state medical association launched a maternal mortality awareness campaign and made the committee funding one of its legislative priorities. Other organizations also lobbied for the funding, including the March of Dimes, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the firm Johnson & Johnson.
“Our society would not function without our mothers,” said Meigs, “and the Alabama Senate sent a message (last week) that the life of a mother must be protected.”