2022 HEALTH CARE EDITION
UNINSURED POPULATIONS More than 44,000 Lake Houston-area women did not have health insurance coverage as of 2020. Three in four Texas women ages 18-44 are insured.
BIRTH RATES ON THE DECLINE Women are tending to have children later in life, experts said, which has led to a declining birth rate and higher risks in pregnancy.
1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis; and U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D¡Houston, each presented proclamations at a May 21 panel discussion on Black mater- nal deaths in Harris County, declaring May 21 as Maternal Health Day. Sima Ladjevardian, regional director of Region VI for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said the panel discussion was the rst of what will become an annual event during which stakeholders will measure prog- ress and continue to identify challenges. “At HHS, we’re taking unprece- dented actions to really make sure that these disparities are limited and we strengthen Black maternal health by expanding health coverage, implement- ing new policies and providing funding to ensure safer pregnancies and post- partum services,” Ladjevardian said. Brown said HCPH plans to estab- lish a program by late 2022 to target the county’s Black maternal mortality and morbidity rates. The initiative will help remove barriers to resources.
Asian Black Hispanic White
All residents
12.7%
Fertility rate (births per 1,000 women ages 15-50 in the past 12 months)
2010 2020
16.2%
32%
8.4%
69
20.4%
65
62
58
56
52
8.7%
14.6%
28.4%
9.9%
14.7%
11.2%
Harris County Montgomery County
Texas
15%
SOURCES: U.S. CENSUS BUREAU’S AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY, VALUEPENGUINCOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
26.8%
SOURCES: AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY 5YEAR ESTIMATES FOR 2010, 2015 AND 2020COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
9.9%
17.3%
The longer women wait to con- ceive, the more risks they can face in pregnancy and childbirth. The NCHS reported mothers age 40 and older faced a maternal mortality rate of 107.9 per 100,000 births in 2020. Women ages 25-39 died at a rate of 22.8 per 100,000 births. “I think you have to respect the fact that there are higher risks as a woman gets older in terms of getting pregnant,” said Dr. June Marshall, an OB¡GYN with
education—making people aware that pregnancy is serious. The rewards are great, but the complications and the risk factors are as great,” Marshall said. Statewide, nearly all hospitals that deliver babies participate in the TexasAIM to Reduce Maternal Mortality & Morbidity program, a DSHS initiative launched in 2018 to implement best practices in hospitals. At the county level, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner; Harris County Precinct
HCA Houston Healthcare. Reducing the rates
One way local hospital systems such as HCA Houston Healthcare help care for mothers is by o§ering prena- tal education. Media Relations Direc- tor Annette Garber said sta§ have also undergone bias training to help ensure Black women receive the same level of care as their peers. “Overall, for me it’s going to be
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
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LAKE HOUSTON HUMBLE KINGWOOD EDITION • JUNE 2022
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