A USA Today investigation: https://www.courier-journal.com/story/opinion/2018/12/12/maternal-mortality-mitch-mcconnell-please-help/2274405002/

Moms are dying.

Pregnancy is one of the most common health conditions in the United States, and yet it is also one of the most dangerous.

Thanks to reporting in national media, including the USA TODAY Network, pregnancy and pregnancy-related deaths have finally moved to the center of the health policy conversations being had by elected officials.
But we must move beyond conversation. We need lawmakers to approve the funding to establish maternal mortality review committees panels of experts that review pregnancy-related deaths and recommend solutions to prevent them. The House just passed a bipartisan bill to help with funding. We need Sen. Mitch McConnell to take the lead in the Senate.

We know the severity of severe maternal illness and death all too well. Bekah Bischoff, a Louisville teacher, had a near-death experience, surviving preeclampsia and HELLP (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelet count) syndrome related to the birth of her second child.

Read more: Hospitals know how to protect mothers. They just aren't doing it.

"My motivation is to ensure my own daughter, who is currently 8 years old, doesn't have to deal with this," Bischoff said. "I don't want to be sitting by her bedside in 20 years as she fights for her life, as my parents had to do for me. I recently watched the 'Merck for Mothers' film on maternal mortality in the U.S. and was shocked by the statement that pregnant women in the U.S. in 1990 had a better chance of survival than their daughters do in 2018."

Cheryl Parker has been working in obstetric nursing for almost 25 years and has witnessed severe pregnancy-related illness and death in patients.

"There is nothing more heartbreaking than witnessing the death of a mother as she gives life to her child," Parker said. No family should have to face that tragedy; especially in America. According to the CIA, there are seven developing countries with lower maternal mortality rates than the U.S., one of which is Kuwait.
The reality is that without well-established maternal mortality review committees, which are required by federal regulations to report appropriate findings, we are not able to truly know the depth of this problem, or how to combat it.

In the United States, maternal illness and death rates are incredibly high compared with other developed countries. Ranking 49th out of 184 countries for maternal deaths, the United States is one of only eight countries that has a rising maternal mortality and morbidity rate, according to a study published in The Lancet on Sept. 13, 2014.

Realted: What states aren't doing to save new mothers' lives

The CDC defines a pregnancy-related death as "the death of a woman during pregnancy or within one year of the end of pregnancy from a pregnancy complication, a chain of events initiated by pregnancy, or the aggravation of an unrelated condition by the physiologic effects of pregnancy."

Women of color, specifically African-American women, are 3 to 4 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. In 2011, the CDC reported that the maternal mortality rate for non-Hispanic white women was 12.5 deaths per 100,000 births compared with 42.8 deaths per 100,000 births for non-Hispanic black women.

Mothers dying from pregnancy and child birth is a problem right here in Kentucky. Based on vital statistics data analyzed by the March of Dimes in Peristats, for every 100,000 live births, Kentucky has an average of 8.1 maternal deaths. In comparison, for the same time period, 2003-2007, Illinois averaged a maternal mortality rate of 5.8 per 100,000 live births. Any severe illness or death from pregnancy is unacceptable.

Pregnancy and childbirth are complicated and complex; no two people have the exact same pregnancy experience. Pregnancy-related and pregnancy-associated deaths are caused by a variety of factors, from complications like preeclampsia to emerging challenges such as suicide and overdose due to substance use disorders.

A family's story: 'Mommy went to heaven'

When there is a negative outcome, health care professionals need to be able to fully understand what happened so it doesn't happen again. While professional organizations in the nursing community work to develop best standards of practice, eradicating maternal mortality is not a responsibility that falls solely on one profession. There must be a collaborative effort among health care professionals, public health officials and lawmakers.

McConnell, the highest-ranking member of the Senate, is in the best position to ensure passage of S1112, "Maternal Health Accountability Act." This bill would authorize funds for states to establish formal maternal mortality review committees, to identify and review all pregnancy-related and pregnancy-associated deaths, and to submit annual reports to the CDC on the committee's findings and recommendations for solutions.

This bill and its House companion bill both enjoy broad bipartisan support. A majority of senators support this bill. We ask Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to schedule the Maternal Health Accountability Act for a vote on the Senate floor during the lame duck session.

Our values, as a state and as a nation, are shown through the programs in which money is spent. We value the lives of women and children, and the time has come for us to say "mothers shouldn't be dying when giving life."

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Bekah Bischoff is a teacher in Louisville and a survivor of preeclampsia and HELLP (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelet count) syndrome related to the birth of her second child.

Cheryl Parker is a CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist) and former labor and delivery nurse, working for Obstetric Anesthesia Consultants at Norton Women's and Children's Hospital in Louisville. She is a member of the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses.