Key Points from the Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Task Force Report

An Excerpt of the Recent Texans Care for Children Report, Healthy Moms Raising Healthy Babies: Central Texas and Statewide Challenges and Opportunities to Support Maternal Behavioral Health During the First Year After Childbirth

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The following is an edited excerpt of our recent report on maternal behavioral health in Central Texas, which is available in full on txchildren.org. This excerpt outlines key points from the Texas’ Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Task Force’s 2018 report that shed additional light on maternal deaths and harmful pregnancy complications, including behavioral health challenges and the need for increased access to health coverage.

The Task Force found that most maternal deaths were potentially preventable. They also found that certain populations of Texas women — Black women and women with low incomes — face greater risk of maternal death and harmful pregnancy complications. The Task Force report underscores that behavioral health challenges, particularly between 60 days and one year postpartum, led to many maternal deaths in Texas. The report clearly demonstrates that maternal deaths are only one part of the story, with many more mothers facing severe pregnancy complications. The first of the Task Force’s ten recommendations to improve maternal health is for Texas to increase access to health services during the year after pregnancy and between pregnancies.


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