INDIANAPOLIS – A study from the University of Washington released Monday shows maternal mortality rates more than doubled in some states between 1999 and 2019, with sharp increases for some racial and ethnic groups.
Researchers touted it as the first study to provide such maternal mortality calculations for every state. Previous reports have not included rates for states with fewer than 20 maternal deaths, which is nearly half of all states, the report shows.
In Indiana, the maternal mortality rate more than doubled for both white women and Hispanic women. Indiana led the nation in maternal mortality rate increases for white women, with deaths increasing by more than 150%, and Hispanic women, with deaths increasing by more than 105%.
Though the rate for those two ethnic groups soared, Indiana still fares poorly in deaths across all populations. For Black Hoosiers, death rates are double that of white women, despite Black Hoosiers making up a significantly smaller percentage of the overall population.
The study assembled information about people who died while pregnant or up to one year afterward. Causes often include hemorrhage, heart conditions, infections and high blood pressure, all of which can develop even months post-delivery, because of the ways the body changes and reacts to carrying and birthing a baby.
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