The Maryland Department of Health has been awarded more than $1.1 million from the CDC to improve maternal health in the state.
The funding – allocated over three years – will be used to review pregnancy-related deaths to better understand the causes and complications that occur during and after pregnancy.
It will also be used to examine disparities in maternal health.
The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate for a developed country. Every year, about 700 women die as a result of pregnancy or delivery complications, according to the CDC.
The maternal mortality rate in the U.S. has been steadily increasing since its lowest level in 1987, at 6.6 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.
In Maryland, the maternal mortality rate is currently lower than the nationwide average.
Between 2014 and 2018, the state’s maternal mortality rate was 18.4 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, compared to 20.7 maternal deaths per 100,00 live births nationwide.
In previous years, however, the maternal mortality rate in Maryland remained consistently higher than the U.S. average.
Maternal mortality rate varies drastically by race and ethnicity – Black women are consistently much more likely to die from complications surrounding pregnancy and childbirth than white women.
In Maryland, Black women are four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, according to the latest data from the health department.
In 2021, Governor Hogan announced the launch of a $72 million maternal and child health initiative to improve health disparities in Maryland.
The latest grant from the CDC will support the initiative.
The health department will use the funding to better understand pregnancy-related deaths in Maryland and support the staff necessary to do so.
“A woman dying during pregnancy and childbirth from preventable causes is not acceptable,” said MDH Secretary Dennis R. Schrader in a statement.
“We welcome this funding from the CDC, which will complement our efforts to look deeper into the causes of maternal mortality and complications during pregnancy in Maryland and find solutions,” he said.
