Maternal mortality report finds Black, rural, Medicaid mothers likelier to die after childbirth
By RAYMON TRONCOSO
Capitol News Illinois
rtroncoso@capitolnewsillinois.com
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Public Health on Thursday issued its second report on maternal mortality rates in the state, which found there were 103 pregnancy-associated deaths in Illinois in 2017 – the highest number of any year in that decade.
The report looked at deaths during or after pregnancy from 2016 to 2017, with 175 pregnancy-associated deaths logged during the two-year span.
The report, presented Thursday by IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike, IDPH Deputy Director Shannon Lightner and Maternity Mortality Review Committee Chair Dr. Robin Jones, found that Black women were almost three times as likely to die within one year of pregnancy than white women.
The number of maternal deaths per capita was also higher in rural regions of the state, and most of the deaths would have been preventable if the mothers had better access to health care.
“The committees determined that 83 percent of the pregnancy-related deaths were potentially preventable, meaning that there was some chance that the death could have been avoided if reasonable changes could have been made at the provider hospital, community system or patient levels,” Lightner said.
The “Illinois Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Report 2016-2017” defines maternal mortality as when an individual died while pregnant or within one year of pregnancy regardless of the outcome of the birth.
A distinction is made between pregnancy-associated deaths – which include any death that occurs during or within one year of pregnancy from any cause; and pregnancy-related deaths – which include any death that occurs during or within one year of pregnancy due to complications with the pregnancy or any condition or ailment caused or exacerbated by pregnancy.
Illinois reviews maternal deaths through two different committees. One reviews deaths suspected to be medically related to pregnancy, while the other reviews deaths resulting from homicide, suicide or drug overdose.
Since 2008, the ratio of pregnancy-associated deaths per 100,000 live births has increased in Illinois.
Black residents were almost three times as likely to die within one year of pregnancy as white residents, and a similar disparity exists between residents on Medicaid during their pregnancy versus those on private insurance.
The highest rates of pregnancy-associated deaths per 100,000 live births was observed in rural regions of the state at 83, while the lowest rates were found in suburban Cook County and the surrounding collar counties.
The disparity between Black and white maternal death rates in the new report was about half what it was in the state’s first report, which analyzed mortality rates in 2015. But Ezike said the gap was not closed by progress for Black Illinoisans.
“In our first report we indicated that Black women were more than six times as likely to die from a pregnancy-related condition as white women,” Ngozi said during the presentation. “It is not due to conditions improving for Black women, but it’s instead due to worsening conditions for white women, especially due to mental health conditions, including substance use disorder and suicide.”
The report found 60 pregnancy-related deaths between 2016-2017. About 40 percent of these were caused by mental health conditions such as depression, schizophrenia or substance abuse disorder. At about 8 percent each, the next three most common causes of pregnancy-related deaths were pre-existing medical conditions, hemorrhage and hypertension disorder
The causes of death seemed to have high racial disparities. Over half of pregnancy-related deaths for white and Hispanic residents were due to mental health conditions, while they accounted for about one in 10 deaths for Black women.
The next three highest causes of pregnancy-related deaths accounted for just 3 percent of deaths for white residents, while they were responsible for 46 percent of deaths in Black residents and 33 percent of deaths in Hispanic residents. All hemorrhage deaths recorded happened to Black women.
Most deaths occurred during pregnancy, while about a third happened between two months to a year after childbirth.
The Pritzker administration recently expanded Medicaid coverage for Illinois mothers, increasing the length from 60 days following childbirth to 12 months.
“Women who were on Medicaid at the time of delivery were more likely to have a death occur in that time period that’s after the two months postpartum period,” Lightner said. “Looking at disparities, as we’ve pointed out, Black women are more likely to die of medical related causes including pre-existing chronic disease, hypertension, you know, things that are going to need more ongoing health care. And so, extending Medicaid beyond that 60-day window will give women of color more opportunity to take care of their health, to address those ongoing needs, and hopefully go into their next pregnancy healthier.”
The state’s first maternal mortality report was released in 2018 and looked at deaths occurring in 2015. The second report, delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, has been released after three years, although it covers a longer period than the first report.
According to Lightner, the lag in data analysis is something IDPH was actively addressing thanks to a grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Previously our maternal mortality review process was done completely through volunteer efforts, and now we have two full-time staff dedicated to this effort,” she said.
“Our data lag will improve, it will never be able to be in real time, because of the time it takes to gather and abstract records of women who died, but we do not wait to look at those deaths and make quality improvement efforts… then hopefully we will see as we catch up with our reviews the maternal mortality rates go down and some of these disparities, really narrow.”
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Local News
Police Blotter
Spread the loveCHICAGO RIDGE DUI Orlando De La Rosa, 32, of Berwyn, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol following a traffic stop at 2:29 a.m. March 8 in the 9200 block of South Harlem Avenue. Police said he failed field sobriety tests and refused to submit a breath sample. He was also…
Oak Lawn seeks participants for Fourth of July parade
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle It may be spring, but it is not too early to talk about a summer parade. The Oak Lawn Village Board approved a resolution Tuesday morning authorizing the submission of a permit request to the Illinois Department of Transportation for the 2024 Fourth of July Parade. The resolution approves the…
Sandburg welcomes new associate principal of instruction
Spread the loveConsolidated High School District 230 Board of Education is welcoming Dr. Veronica Shaw to Carl Sandburg High School as its new Associate Principal of Instruction. She begins July 1 and replaces Anita Huffman who was recently appointed as District 230’s Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services. With ample education leadership experience, Shaw is currently…
Residents warm up to Hills Chamber Business Expo
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle Spring has arrived but winter continues to leave its calling card. However, that did not prevent the Hills Chamber of Commerce from holding its 10th annual Business and Community Expo Saturday at Conrady Junior High School in Hickory Hills. While the temperatures were frigid and windy outside, the spirit inside…
Palos Park to tweak outdated village zoning codes
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva The village of Palos Park has no grand plan to change the village landscape. But officials want to modernize some of its zoning codes. “The village has not comprehensively updated its development regulations since 1960,” Mayor Nicole Milovich-Walters said at the March 25 village council meeting. “Due to this, there…
SD122 psychologist resigns over Islamophobic posts
Spread the loveBy Nuha Abdessalam A psychologist for Ridgeland School District 122 has resigned after hundreds of parents demanded she be fired for social media posts that were pro-Israeli and anti-Palestinian. District Supt. Joseph Matise announced at a schoolboard meeting last week that Dr. Laurie Hoke had resigned. “Dr. Hoke will no longer be working…
Will the month of March leave like a lion?
Spread the love. By Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place • (773) 517-7796 . The days are getting longer and slightly warmer. But my prediction of a few weeks ago–March is certainly not leaving like a lamb–may prove to be correct. A sure sign of spring in…
Robin sighting a sign of new beginnings
Spread the love. By Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place • (773) 504-9327 . I saw a robin the other day. This was the first sighting of the season for me. I remember my mom saying that the first robin of spring is a promise of new beginnings. May it be so. Is…
Thome sweet Thome: Nazareth baseball defeats Hall of Famer Jim Thome’s alma mater
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Nazareth baseball team took a road trip to the middle of Illinois and improved its record to 7-0 on March 23 by beating Limestone, 6-0. Limestone is the alma mater of former White Sox player and Baseball Hall of Fame member Jim Thome, who is an assistant coach…
Neighbors
Boys Volleyball | Stagg ends Marist Invite with win over Riverside-Brookfield
Spread the loveBy Jason Maholy Sports Editor Stagg outlasted Riverside-Brookfield in a marathon first set, winning 36-34, then followed that with a 25-20 clincher on March 23 to finish seventh in the Silver divison at the 20th Marist RedHawks Invitational. The Chargers went 2-3 in the tournament. They opened pool play on March 22 at…
Boys Volleyball | Shepard finishes 4th in Bronze at Marist Invite
Spread the loveShepard served as one of three host sites for the 20th Marist RedHawks Invitational, and kicked off play in Palos Heights by facing Lincoln-Way East on March 22. The Griffins defeated the Astros, 25-10, 25-15. Marian Catholic beat Shepard, 25-23, 25-9, in the Astros’ second match of the day. The Astros fell to…
Obbie’s Pizza to stay ‘unique and delicious’
Spread the love. New owner vows to serve same popular menu . By Tim Hadac Archer Avenue’s long-time king of pizzerias will continue to rule. Same recipes at Obbie’s Pizza, 6654 W. Archer. Same pizza and ingredients. Same pasta, broasted chicken, shrimp, perch, Italian beef/sausage/meatball sandwiches, sides and pop. Same seasoned, Middleby Marshall pizza oven…
Countryside City Council tackles long list of items
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Water leaks, a new truck and abandoned vehicles were among a laundry list of items tackled by the Countryside City Council at its latest meeting. They were all from the infrastructure committee chaired by Ald. Mark Benson (3rd). All of the following were approved by a unanimous 6-0 vote on…
Argo High School holds Iftar Dinner for community
Spread the loveBy Carol McGowan More than 100 people gathered at Argo Community High School last week for a now annual Ramadan Iftar dinner organized by Argo teacher Nadia Elkhatib. Elkhatib was happy with the turnout for those coming Thursday night to break bread with the school’s Muslim students and their families. “I will continue…
Pool improvements advance in Palos Heights
Spread the loveBy Nuha Abdessalam Palos Heights aldermen last week approved contracts advancing improvements at the municipal pool. Alderman Jefry Key motioned for approval of a letter of agreement with the American Institute of Architects between Williams Architect and the City of Palos Heights for the pool improvement project. Since first proposing pool improvements in…
Teens enjoy Green Hills karaoke party
Spread the loveBy Nuha Abdessalam Palos Hills tweens and teens sang their hearts out for karaoke night at a neighborhood coffee house. Green Hills Library invited all tweens and teens for a karaoke night at Strange Brew Cafe on West 103rd Street and 87th Street on Feb. 22. Organized by Green Hill Library Youth Program…
Cervantinos Authentic Mexican Restaurant opens in Palos Heights
Spread the loveBy Kelly White When choosing a location for his second business location, Luis Garcia knew he wanted it to be Palos Heights. “I absolutely love it here,” Luis Garcia, of Oak Forest and the owner and chef of Cervantinos Authentic Mexican Restaurant #2, said. “It’s a great area, nice clientele and I’m happy…
Worth Polar Plunge raises record amount
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle The FOP Worth Polar Plunge has been deemed a major success and local officials said the amount raised has set a new record. The annual event, sponsored by the Worth Police Department, took place in a large swimming pool that was put up in the parking lot of the Marrs-Meyer…
Green Hills Public Library hosts Eid Clothing Drive
Spread the loveBy Kelly White The Islamic calendar has two major holidays each year: Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan and celebrates an entire month of fasting, and Eid al-Adha, the festival of the sacrifice that occurs during the culmination of the Hajj pilgrimage season. It takes place two lunar months after Ramadan.…