SAN ANTONIO – A new study shows a dramatic and strange increase in the number of Texas women who are dying from pregnancy-related causes. The medical journal Obstetrics and Gynecology reports that rates started rising fast in 2010 and haven't slowed down.
Kate Ellington's pregnancies were considered high-risk. She gave birth to her second baby, Daisy, seven weeks ago.
"I have a brain condition called Moyamoya disease. I've actually had three strokes," Ellison said.
Her high-risk pregnancies led her to Dr. Patrick Ramsey's office at the UT Health Science Center. He's a local expert on women with at-risk or complicated pregnancies. Both of Ellington's pregnancies went smoothly.
"We saw her early in pregnancy to help identify any potential complicating factors. We got her engaged with other consultants as needed and had a real good team approach," Ramsey said.
That's not always the situation for women with complicated pregnancies. In fact, lately, pregnant women in Texas have been dying at an alarming rate.
"It's really insane and just tragic, because I feel terrible for the families that lose a wife, a mother," Ellington said.
Maternal mortality is defined as death during pregnancy or within the first 42 days of life after pregnancy.
The study showed that in 2010, there were about 18 deaths per 100,000 live births. By the next year, that number had risen to 33 deaths. That's a much higher rate than any other state. Many question why this is happening.
"There's a lot of thoughts going into that. A lot of it is access. We know that Texas did not participate in Medicaid expansion in 2013. They defunded some women health services in 2011, so that may be part of the reason," Ramsey said. "Other reasons may be, we're just seeing a lot more patients getting pregnant later in life. Women who are obese have other complications. Higher frequency of overdoses in certain populations, hemorrhage and blood pressure complications."
A state maternal mortality task force, formed in 2014 before those numbers were released, is taking all these possibilities into consideration. Ramsey is one of many doctors who makes suggestions to that task force and said preventing health issues before pregnancy is imperative.
"(We're) trying to get patients in before they get pregnant, rather than after they get pregnant," Ramsey said.