The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is funding new maternal health research centers in an effort to end the epidemic of deaths among pregnant women and new mothers in the US – home to the highest maternal mortality rate in the world.
In 2021, data from the last year is available, more than 1,200 women who were pregnant or had been pregnant in the past 42 days died. This represents a 40 percent increase from the previous year, making the US the most dangerous country among developed countries for pregnant women and new mothers.
The figures, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), marked a six-decade-high maternal death rate in the US, with black women nearly three times more likely to die than their white counterparts.
In an effort to protect this woman, the NIH announced that it is awarding $24 million in freshman funding to establish 10 centers across the country dedicated to studying and preventing maternal death.
Named the Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence, the project will target populations most at risk of health inequality, including ethnic minorities, people living in poverty, transgender people and people with disabilities.
The NIH will award several grants totaling $168 million over the next few years, as long as funds are available.
Pregnant black women in the US are nearly three times more likely to die than their white counterparts
Each year, tens of thousands of women in America experience serious complications related to pregnancy and childbirth, including high blood pressure, diabetes, and mental illness.
Although the US is a high-income country, the fact that health insurance is not universal means that those who are uninsured do not receive adequate care.
Researchers say there is also an inadvertent bias among medical providers, which negatively impacts black women in terms of the health care they receive.
Dr. Diana Bianchi, director of NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, said: “The magnitude and persistence of maternal health disparities in the United States underscore the need for research to find evidence-based solutions to promote health equity. and improve results across the country.”
She said the new research centers will “generate critical scientific evidence” to “guide clinical care and reduce health disparities during and after pregnancy.”
The Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence will include 10 research centers, a data innovation and coordination hub, and an implementation science hub.
The institutions will work together to design and conduct research projects to address the various factors influencing the maternal mortality rate.
They will join forces with state and local public health agencies, community health centers and faith-based groups.
According to CDC figures, 1,205 pregnant women died in 2021, up from 861 in 2020 and 754 in 2019.
An earlier report from the Government Accountability Office stated that at least 400 maternal deaths in 2021 cited Covid-19 infection as a contributing factor, which accounted for most of the increase over previous years.
Pregnancy makes women more vulnerable to infectious diseases because their heart, lungs and kidneys already have to work harder during pregnancy.
During the pandemic, it was discovered that Covid can also damage the placenta, cause blood clots more easily and increase the risk of preeclampsia – a potentially deadly complication caused by high blood pressure.
The condition, which is usually accompanied by high blood pressure and protein in the urine, affects about six percent of British and American pregnancies.
Most cases are mild, but preeclampsia can lead to serious complications for mother and baby if not treated in time.
Symptoms include severe headaches, stomach pains, and nausea, which women may mistake for “normal” pregnancy symptoms and therefore do not seek medical attention until the condition becomes severe.
In addition to health and medical concerns, experts added that burnt-out hospital staff and high levels of vaccine hesitancy among pregnant women exacerbated the crisis.
Many doctors and nurses were stressed after being inundated with Covid patients during the pandemic, which meant they spent less personal time with their patients and many pregnant women feared getting Covid vaccines due to limited or false information about the effects of the vaccines on fetuses.