CONTINUED FROM 1
HEALTH RISKS IN HARRIS COUNTY The rate of severe maternal morbidity, or health problems resulting from pregnancy and childbirth, in Harris County was 238 per 10,000 deliveries in 2015— about 20% higher than the Texas average. OF HARRIS COUNTY WOMEN SURVEYED IN 2020:
COMMON CAUSES
For women in Texas, heart conditions and mental disorders were among the leading contributing factors to pregnancy-related deaths in 2013.
While pregnant Within 42 days after delivery 43 days to a year after delivery
Cardiovascular and coronary conditions (13%) Mental disorders (13%) Obsteric hemorrhage (11%) Preeclampsia and eclampsia (11%)
SOURCE: TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
64.2%
24.5%*
22.7%
19.4%
11.4%
Infection (11%) Embolism (11%) Cardiomyopathy (6%) Pulmonary conditions (6%)
are overweight or obese.
have been diagnosed with hypertension.
have been diagnosed
have been diagnosed with a depressive disorder.
did not have a routine checkup in the past year.
with diabetes or gestational diabetes.
*DATA IS FROM 2019
SOURCES: TEXAS BEHAVIORAL RISK FACTOR SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM, IMPROVING MATERNAL HEALTH INITIATIVE COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
lowest percentage of women ages 18-44 with insurance coverage at 73.6% and the lowest percentage of women who had access to a primary care provider at 57%. “So not only are they not able to access a primary doctor, but they really don’t have a lot of options for paying for that,” she said. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 20.4% of Harris County res- idents were uninsured in 2020 com- pared to 17.3% statewide and 8.7% nationwide. In comparison, 14.4% of Cy-Fair residents were uninsured. “The way mortality is ranked for both mothers and infants, there are what we would consider provider causes, and then there are what’s con- sidered nonprovider causes,” Brown said. “For Black moms, the provider causes, unfortunately, are higher than they are for our white mom counter- parts, and I think that speaks a lot to the inequity in the social systems and the support around our Black moms and our Black babies.” Cy-Fair ZIP code 77065 had among the highest rates of severe maternal
correlate to its high rate of uninsured residents and other barriers to care for underserved communities. “The Texas Medical Center sits in Harris County, and it’s a little bit astounding that unfortunately we still have some of the highest rates of Black maternal and infant mortality,” Brown said. HCPH is developing a culturally competent program to speci cally improve outcomes for Black mothers, and the DSHS has implemented initia- tives throughout the past decade to help address maternal mortality. Identifying root causes Researchers at ValuePenguin, an online data analysis tool designed to help consumers make nancial deci- sions, gave Texas the lowest score of all 50 states in a study released in May about access to and the quality of pre- natal and maternal care. Health insurance research analyst Robin Townsend said while Texas ranked in the middle of the country when it came to the quality of infant and maternal care, Texas had the
morbidity between 2014-16, accord- ing to a study from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler. About 23% of the population of 77065 is Black, and 15.7% was uninsured in 2020, according to census data. A single woman making less than $26,916 a year—a threshold more than 20% of one-person households in Cy-Fair falls below—could qualify for Medicaid to cover prenatal visits, labor and delivery, and checkups up to two months after giving birth. The Texas Legislature passed House Bill 133 in 2021, extending that coverage to six months after birth, but experts said women with comorbid- ities often need to be treated before conception and more than six months after delivering their baby. Brown said Black women tend to have higher rates of risk factors, such as hyperten- sion, obesity and diabetes. Dr. Rakhi Dimino, an OB GYN at Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital, said more than half of births in Texas are covered by Med- icaid, but access is a challenge. Many women do not receive prenatal care
CONTINUED FROM 1
The average national maternal mortality rate was 23.8 per 100,000 births in 2020, an 18% year-over- year increase, which local health care providers said could partially be attributed to COVID-19. Black women in particular died at a much higher rate of 55.3 per 100,000 births that year, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Hall said the state’s maternal mor- tality rate may vary across di erent sources. However, Texas consistently ranks higher than the U.S. average in this metric across multiple studies. The 2021 March of Dimes Report Card, which grades states on the health of mothers and infants nation- wide, gave Texas a D grade and Har- ris County an F due to high rates of preterm births, infant deaths, inade- quate prenatal care, social vulnerabil- ity factors and state policies. Dr. Ericka Brown, interim local health authority at Harris County Public Health, said the state’s ele- vated maternal mortality rates also
CITY OF JERSEY VILLAGE
4 th of July Celebration
9533 HUFFMEISTER RD. SUITE B HOUSTON, TX 77095
281.763.7960
Featuring
DR. SHITAL PATEL AUDIOLOGIST
24
COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
Powered by FlippingBook