Health & wellness
BY PATRICIA ORTIZ
North Texas universities to reduce maternal morbidity rates
Dallas counties with assistance from every major health system in North Texas, according to a news release. Some participating systems include Baylor Scott & White and JPS Health network. The background The first initiative launched in spring 2025 to address blood transfusions, which officials said was the most common obstetric complication. “We found that handing [an over-the-counter] bottle of iron to women during their prenatal visit, rather than recommending that they purchase it on their own, reduces the risk of anemia during delivery, pregnancy, improves health outcomes and reduces symptomatic anemia postpartum by one third,” Catherine Spong, a UT Southwestern professor and the chair of obstetrics and gynecol- ogy, said. The accelerator will officially start in January 2026, with initial impact results expected to be released in mid- to fall 2026.
A new partnership between Texas Christian University and the University of Texas Southwest- ern Medical Center was announced at the TCU campus Nov. 17 to help combat maternal morbidity rates through the North Texas Maternal Health
Key facts and figures The Tarrant County Maternal & Infant Health Coalition, where the accelerator originated, has previously found: 26.8 deaths per 100,000 live births in Texas and 23.3 in Tarrant County from 2016 to 2020
Accelerator. In a nutshell
The $25 million accelerator, raised by eleven partners across North Texas, will primarily focus on reducing obstetric complications, or health problems during pregnancy, childbirth or post- partum, by more than 20% over three years and rewarding maternal health improvements through sustainable incentives. “Keeping all of our mothers healthy requires our health care system to coordinate in some new ways,” said Cameron Combs, senior director of Child Poverty Action Lab and the event emcee. Officials said data gathered through the part- nership will come from patients in Tarrant and
10% of all births in the U.S. occur in Texas, which has 400,000 annually
1 in 7 Texas women experiences depression within six months after pregnancy
22% of pregnancy related deaths caused by mental health conditions in a 2019 study
SOURCES: TARRANT COUNTY MATERNAL & INFANT HEALTH COALITION, TARRANT COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH, TEXAS HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES/ COMMUNITY IMPACT
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