Pregnancy-Related Deaths Due to Hemorrhage: Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System, 2012-2019.

Hemorrhage has been a leading cause of pregnancy-related death in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System since 1987 when reporting began. Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System data from 2012 to 2019 were analyzed to describe pregnancy-related deaths from hemorrhage. Pregnancy-related mortality ratios were estimated for hemorrhage overall and by hemorrhage subclassifications. Specific subclassifications of hemorrhage-related deaths were analyzed by sociodemographic characteristics. Overall, there were 606 deaths due to hemorrhage. The pregnancy-related mortality ratio for hemorrhage overall was 1.94 per 100,000 live births. Ruptured ectopic pregnancy was the most frequent subclassification (22.9%) of pregnancy-related hemorrhage deaths, followed by postpartum hemorrhage (21.2%). There were no significant trends in the pregnancy-related mortality ratio, overall or among any subclassification of hemorrhage deaths, from 2012 to 2019. Reporting subclassifications of pregnancy-related hemorrhage deaths could improve the ability to focus interventions and assess progress over time.

Abortion Surveillance - United States, 2021.

Problem/Condition: CDC conducts abortion surveillance to document the number and characteristics of women obtaining legal induced abortions and number of abortion-related deaths in the United States. Period Covered: 2021. Description of System: Each year, CDC requests abortion data from the central health agencies for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and New York City. For 2021, a total of 48 reporting areas voluntarily provided aggregate abortion data to CDC. Of these, 47 reporting areas provided data each year during 2012-2021. Census and natality data were used to calculate abortion rates (number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years) and ratios (number of abortions per 1,000 live births), respectively. Abortion-related deaths from 2020 were assessed as part of CDC's Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System (PMSS). Results: A total of 625,978 abortions for 2021 were reported to CDC from 48 reporting areas. Among 47 reporting areas with data each year during 2012-2021, in 2021, a total of 622,108 abortions were reported, the abortion rate was 11.6 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years, and the abortion ratio was 204 abortions per 1,000 live births. From 2020 to 2021, the total number of abortions increased 5% (from 592,939 total abortions), the abortion rate increased 5% (from 11.1 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years), and the abortion ratio increased 4% (from 197 abortions per 1,000 live births). From 2012 to 2021, the total number of reported abortions decreased 8% (from 673,634), the abortion rate decreased 11% (from 13.1 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years), and the abortion ratio decreased 1% (from 207 abortions per 1,000 live births).In 2021, women in their 20s accounted for more than half of abortions (57.0%). Women aged 20-24 and 25-29 years accounted for the highest percentages of abortions (28.3% and 28.7%, respectively) and had the highest abortion rates (19.7 and 19.4 abortions per 1,000 women aged 20-24 and 25-29 years, respectively). By contrast, adolescents aged <15 years and women aged ≥40 years accounted for the lowest percentages of abortions (0.2% and 3.6%, respectively) and had the lowest abortion rates (0.4 and 2.5 abortions per 1,000 women aged <15 and ≥40 years, respectively). However, abortion ratios were highest among adolescents (aged ≤19 years) and lowest among women aged 30-39 years.From 2020 to 2021, abortion rates increased among women aged 20-39 years, decreased among adolescents aged 15-19 years, and did not change among adolescents aged <15 years and women aged ≥40 years. Abortion rates decreased from 2012 to 2021 among all age groups, except women aged 30-34 years for whom it increased. The decrease in the abortion rate from 2012 to 2021 was highest among adolescents compared with any other age group. From 2020 to 2021, abortion ratios increased for women aged 15-24 years, decreased among adolescents aged <15 years and women aged ≥35 years and did not change for women aged 25-34 years. From 2012 to 2021, abortion ratios increased among women aged 15-29 years and decreased among adolescents aged <15 years and women aged ≥30 years. The decrease in abortion ratio from 2012 to 2021 was highest among women aged ≥40 years compared with any other age group.In 2021, the majority (80.8%) of abortions were performed at ≤9 weeks' gestation, and nearly all (93.5%) were performed at ≤13 weeks' gestation. During 2012-2021, the percentage of abortions performed at >13 weeks' gestation remained ≤8.7%. In 2021, the highest percentage of abortions were performed by early medication abortion at ≤9 weeks' gestation (53.0%), followed by surgical abortion at ≤13 weeks' gestation (37.6%), surgical abortion at >13 weeks' gestation (6.4%), and medication abortion at >9 weeks' gestation (3.0%); all other methods were uncommon (<0.1%). Among those that were eligible (≤9 weeks' gestation), 66.6% of abortions were early medication abortions. In 2020, the most recent year for which PMSS data were reviewed for pregnancy-related deaths; six women died as a result of complications from legal induced abortion. Interpretation: Among the 47 areas that reported data continuously during 2012-2021, overall decreases were observed during 2012-2021 in the total number, rate, and ratio of reported abortions; however, from 2020 to 2021, increases were observed across all measures. Public Health Action: Abortion surveillance can be used to help evaluate programs aimed at promoting equitable access to patient-centered quality contraceptive services in the United States to reduce unintended pregnancies.

Vital Signs: Maternity Care Experiences - United States, April 2023.

Introduction: Maternal deaths increased in the United States during 2018-2021, with documented racial disparities. Respectful maternity care is a component of quality care that includes preventing harm and mistreatment, engaging in effective communication, and providing care equitably. Improving respectful maternity care can be part of multilevel strategies to reduce pregnancy-related deaths. Methods: CDC analyzed data from the PN View Moms survey administered during April 24-30, 2023, to examine the following components of respectful care: 1) experiences of mistreatment (e.g., violations of physical privacy, ignoring requests for help, or verbal abuse), 2) discrimination (e.g., because of race, ethnicity or skin color; age; or weight), and 3) reasons for holding back from communicating questions or concerns during maternity (pregnancy or delivery) care. Results: Among U.S. mothers with children aged <18 years, 20% reported mistreatment while receiving maternity care for their youngest child. Approximately 30% of Black, Hispanic, and multiracial respondents and approximately 30% of respondents with public insurance or no insurance reported mistreatment. Discrimination during the delivery of maternity care was reported by 29% of respondents. Approximately 40% of Black, Hispanic, and multiracial respondents reported discrimination, and approximately 45% percent of all respondents reported holding back from asking questions or discussing concerns with their provider. Conclusions and implications for public health practice: Approximately one in five women reported mistreatment during maternity care. Implementing quality improvement initiatives and provider training to encourage a culture of respectful maternity care, encouraging patients to ask questions and share concerns, and working with communities are strategies to improve respectful maternity care.

Abortion Surveillance - United States, 2020.

Problem/Condition: CDC conducts abortion surveillance to document the number and characteristics of women obtaining legal induced abortions and number of abortion-related deaths in the United States. Period Covered: 2020. Description of System: Each year, CDC requests abortion data from the central health agencies for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and New York City. For 2020, a total of 49 reporting areas voluntarily provided aggregate abortion data to CDC. Of these, 48 reporting areas provided data each year during 2011-2020. Census and natality data were used to calculate abortion rates (number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years) and ratios (number of abortions per 1,000 live births), respectively. Abortion-related deaths from 2019 were assessed as part of CDC's Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System (PMSS). Results: A total of 620,327 abortions for 2020 were reported to CDC from 49 reporting areas. Among 48 reporting areas with data each year during 2011-2020, in 2020, a total of 615,911 abortions were reported, the abortion rate was 11.2 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years, and the abortion ratio was 198 abortions per 1,000 live births. From 2019 to 2020, the total number of abortions decreased 2% (from 625,346 total abortions), the abortion rate decreased 2% (from 11.4 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years), and the abortion ratio increased 2% (from 195 abortions per 1,000 live births). From 2011 to 2020, the total number of reported abortions decreased 15% (from 727,554), the abortion rate decreased 18% (from 13.7 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years), and the abortion ratio decreased 9% (from 217 abortions per 1,000 live births).In 2020, women in their 20s accounted for more than half of abortions (57.2%). Women aged 20-24 and 25-29 years accounted for the highest percentages of abortions (27.9% and 29.3%, respectively) and had the highest abortion rates (19.2 and 19.0 abortions per 1,000 women aged 20-24 and 25-29 years, respectively). By contrast, adolescents aged <15 years and women aged ≥40 years accounted for the lowest percentages of abortions (0.2% and 3.7%, respectively) and had the lowest abortion rates (0.4 and 2.6 abortions per 1,000 women aged <15 and ≥40 years, respectively). However, abortion ratios were highest among adolescents (aged ≤19 years) and lowest among women aged 25-39 years.Abortion rates decreased from 2011 to 2020 among all age groups. The decrease in abortion rate was highest among adolescents compared with any other age group. From 2019 to 2020, abortion rates decreased or did not change for all age groups. Abortion ratios decreased from 2011 to 2020 for all age groups, except adolescents aged 15-19 years and women aged 25-29 years for whom abortion ratios increased. The decrease in abortion ratio was highest among women aged ≥40 years compared with any other age group. From 2019 to 2020, abortion ratios decreased for adolescents aged <15 years and women aged ≥35 and increased for women 15-34 years.In 2020, 80.9% of abortions were performed at ≤9 weeks' gestation, and nearly all (93.1%) were performed at ≤13 weeks' gestation. During 2011-2020, the percentage of abortions performed at >13 weeks' gestation remained consistently low (≤9.2%). In 2020, the highest percentage of abortions were performed by early medical abortion at ≤9 weeks' gestation (51.0%), followed by surgical abortion at ≤13 weeks' gestation (40.0%), surgical abortion at >13 weeks' gestation (6.7%), and medical abortion at >9 weeks' gestation (2.4%); all other methods were uncommon (<0.1%). Among those that were eligible (≤9 weeks' gestation), 63.9% of abortions were early medical abortions. In 2019, the most recent year for which PMSS data were reviewed for pregnancy-related deaths, four women died as a result of complications from legal induced abortion. Interpretation: Among the 48 areas that reported data continuously during 2011-2020, overall decreases were observed during 2011-2020 in the total number, rate, and ratio of reported abortions. From 2019 to 2020, decreases also were observed in the total number and rate of reported abortions; however, a 2% increase was observed in the total abortion ratio. Public Health Action: Abortion surveillance can be used to help evaluate programs aimed at promoting equitable access to patient-centered quality contraceptive services in the United States to reduce unintended pregnancies.

Arrhythmias and Heart Failure in Pregnancy: A Dialogue on Multidisciplinary Collaboration.

The prevalence of CVD in pregnant people is estimated to be around 1 to 4%, and it is imperative that clinicians that care for obstetric patients can promptly and accurately diagnose and manage common cardiovascular conditions as well as understand when to promptly refer to a high-risk obstetrics team for a multidisciplinary approach for managing more complex patients. In pregnant patients with CVD, arrhythmias and heart failure (HF) are the most common complications that arise. The difficulty in the management of these patients arises from variable degrees of severity of both arrhythmia and heart failure presentation. For example, arrhythmia-based complications in pregnancy can range from isolated premature ventricular contractions to life-threatening arrhythmias such as sustained ventricular tachycardia. HF also has variable manifestations in pregnant patients ranging from mild left ventricular impairment to patients with advanced heart failure with acute decompensated HF. In high-risk patients, a collaboration between the general obstetrics, maternal-fetal medicine, and cardiovascular teams (which may include cardio-obstetrics, electrophysiology, adult congenital, or advanced HF)-physicians, nurses and allied professionals-can provide the multidisciplinary approach necessary to properly risk-stratify these women and provide appropriate management to improve outcomes.

Care Levels for Fetal Therapy Centers.

Fetal therapies undertaken to improve fetal outcome or to optimize transition to neonate life often entail some level of maternal, fetal, or neonatal risk. A fetal therapy center needs access to resources to carry out such therapies and to manage maternal, fetal, and neonatal complications that might arise, either related to the therapy per se or as part of the underlying fetal or maternal condition. Accordingly, a fetal therapy center requires a dedicated operational infrastructure and necessary resources to allow for appropriate oversight and monitoring of clinical performance and to facilitate multidisciplinary collaboration between the relevant specialties. Three care levels for fetal therapy centers are proposed to match the anticipated care complexity, with appropriate resources to achieve an optimal outcome at an institutional and regional level. A level I fetal therapy center should be capable of offering fetal interventions that may be associated with obstetric risks of preterm birth or membrane rupture but that would be very unlikely to require maternal medical subspecialty or intensive care, with neonatal risks not exceeding those of moderate prematurity. A level II center should have the incremental capacity to provide maternal intensive care and to manage extreme neonatal prematurity. A level III therapy center should offer the full range of fetal interventions (including open fetal surgery) and be able manage any of the associated maternal complications and comorbidities, as well as have access to neonatal and pediatric surgical intervention including indicated surgery for neonates with congenital anomalies.

Call to Action: Maternal Health and Saving Mothers: A Policy Statement From the American Heart Association.

The United States has the highest maternal mortality rates among developed countries, and cardiovascular disease is the leading cause. Therefore, the American Heart Association has a unique role in advocating for efforts to improve maternal health and to enhance access to and delivery of care before, during, and after pregnancy. Several initiatives have shaped the time course of major milestones in advancing maternal and reproductive health equity in the United States. There have been significant strides in improving the timeliness of data reporting in maternal mortality surveillance and epidemiological programs in maternal and child health, yet more policy reforms are necessary. To make a sustainable and systemic impact on maternal health, further efforts are necessary at the societal, institutional, stakeholder, and regulatory levels to address the racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health, to effectively reduce inequities in care, and to mitigate maternal morbidity and mortality. In alignment with American Heart Association's mission "to be a relentless force for longer, healthier lives," this policy statement outlines the inequities that influence disparities in maternal outcomes and current policy approaches to improving maternal health and suggests additional potentially impactful actions to improve maternal outcomes and ultimately save mothers' lives.

Management of Women With Congenital or Inherited Cardiovascular Disease From Pre-Conception Through Pregnancy and Postpartum: JACC Focus Seminar 2/5.

Maternal morbidity and mortality continue to rise in the United States, with cardiovascular disease as the leading cause of maternal deaths. Congenital heart disease is now the most common cardiovascular condition encountered during pregnancy, and its prevalence will continue to grow. In tandem with these trends, maternal cardiovascular health is becoming increasingly complex. The identification of women at highest risk for cardiovascular complications is essential, and a team-based approach is recommended to optimize maternal and fetal outcomes. This document, the second of a 5-part series, will provide practical guidance from pre-conception through postpartum for cardiovascular conditions that are predominantly congenital or heritable in nature, including aortopathies, congenital heart disease, pulmonary hypertension, and valvular heart disease.

Enhancing Obstetric Safety Through Best Practices.

The pregnancy-related mortality rate in the US exceeds that of other developed nations and is marked by significant disparities in outcome by race. This article reviews the evidence supporting the implementation of a variety of best practices designed to reduce maternal mortality. Evidence from maternal mortality review committees suggests that delays in diagnosis, delays in initiation of treatment and use of ineffective treatments contribute to preventable cases of maternal death. We review several protocols for maternal warning signs that have been used successfully to facilitate early identification and intervention. Care bundles, a collection of best practices, have been developed and implemented to address several maternal emergencies. We review the evidence that supports reduction in adverse outcomes with consistent implementation of obstetric hemorrhage and severe hypertension bundles in a collaborative, team-based setting. The article concludes with suggestions for the future.

Maternal Mortality From Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the United States.

Individual state maternal mortality review committees aim to comprehensively review all maternal deaths to not only evaluate the cause of death, but also to assess preventability and make recommendations for action to prevent future deaths. The maternal mortality review committee process remains critical during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Maternal deaths due to COVID-19 have been reported in the United States. Some state maternal mortality review committees may choose to expedite review of these deaths in an effort to quickly provide clinicians with information intended to prevent other deaths during the ongoing pandemic. If states opt to pursue rapid review, entry of data into the Maternal Mortality Review Information Application system for submission to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will allow for aggregation nationally without duplication. It will be important to review not only deaths directly attributed to COVID-19, but also those that may be indirectly related to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as those influenced by changes in care practices or delays in seeking care during the pandemic. Therefore, regardless of the timing of the review, maternal deaths that occur during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic must be evaluated within that framework to ensure that all factors contributing to the death are considered to better understand the context of each of these tragic events.

Identifying Maternal Deaths in Texas Using an Enhanced Method, 2012.

OBJECTIVE: To more accurately estimate the 2012 maternal mortality ratio for Texas using an enhanced method for identifying maternal deaths. METHODS: This population-based descriptive study used both data matching and record review to verify pregnancy or delivery within 42 days for 147 deaths with obstetric cause-of-death codes, and used data matching alone to identify additional maternal deaths within the same timeframe. Crude maternal mortality ratios were calculated for confirmed maternal deaths overall, by race and ethnicity, and by age. These maternal mortality ratios were compared with maternal mortality ratios computed using obstetric cause-of-death codes alone (standard method). RESULTS: Fifty-six maternal deaths were confirmed to have occurred during pregnancy or within 42 days postpartum. Using our enhanced method, the 2012 maternal mortality ratio for Texas was 14.6 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, less than half that obtained using the standard method (n=147). Approximately half (50.3%) of obstetric-coded deaths showed no evidence of pregnancy within 42 days, and a large majority of these incorrectly indicated pregnancy at the time of death. Insufficient information was available to determine pregnancy for 15 obstetric-coded deaths, which were excluded from the 2012 maternal mortality ratio estimate; however, had these deaths been included, the resulting maternal mortality ratio would still be significantly lower than that reported using the standard method. CONCLUSION: Relying solely on obstetric codes for identifying maternal deaths appears to be insufficient and can lead to inaccurate maternal mortality ratios. A method enhanced with data matching and record review yields more accurate ratios. Results likely have national implications, because miscoding of obstetric deaths with the standard method may affect the accuracy of other states' maternal mortality ratios.

Impact of USPSTF recommendations for aspirin for prevention of recurrent preeclampsia.

BACKGROUND: The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends low-dose aspirin for the prevention of preeclampsia among women at high risk for primary occurrence or recurrence of disease. Recommendations for the use of aspirin for preeclampsia prevention were issued by the US Preventive Services Task Force in September 2014. OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study was to evaluate the incidence of recurrent preeclampsia in our cohort before and after the US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation for aspirin for preeclampsia prevention. STUDY DESIGN: This was a retrospective cohort study designed to evaluate the rates of recurrent preeclampsia among women with a history of preeclampsia. We utilized a 2-hospital, single academic institution database from August 2011 through June 2016. We excluded multiple gestations and included only the first delivery for women with multiple deliveries during the study period. The cohort of women with a history of preeclampsia were divided into 2 groups, before and after the release of the US Preventive Services Task Force 2014 recommendations. Potential confounders were accounted for in multivariate analyses, and relative risk and adjusted relative risk were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 17,256 deliveries occurred during the study period. A total of 417 women had a documented history of prior preeclampsia: 284 women before and 133 women after the US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation. Comparing the before and after groups, the proportion of Hispanic women in the after group was lower and the method of payment differed between the groups (P <.0001). The prevalence of type 1 diabetes was increased in the after period, but overall rates of pregestational diabetes were similar (6.3% before vs 5.3% after [P > .05]). Risk factors for recurrent preeclampsia included maternal age >35 years (relative risk, 1.83; 95% confidence interval, 1.34-2.48), Medicaid insurance (relative risk, 2.08; 95% confidence interval, 1.15-3.78), type 2 diabetes (relative risk, 2.13; 95% confidence interval, 1.37-3.33), and chronic hypertension (relative risk, 1.96; 95% confidence interval, 1.44-2.66). The risk of recurrent preeclampsia was decreased by 30% in the after group (adjusted relative risk, 0.70; 95% confidence interval, 0.52-0.95). CONCLUSION: Rates of recurrent preeclampsia among women with a history of preeclampsia decreased by 30% after release of the US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation for aspirin for preeclampsia prevention. Future prospective studies should include direct measures of aspirin compliance, gestational age at initiation, and explore the influence of race and ethnicity on the efficacy of this primary prevention.