Ohio鈥檚 rate of 23.8 maternal deaths per 100,000 births is slightly higher than the national average, according to . And it鈥檚 an issue disproportionately impacting Black women across the state. Black women in Ohio are more than twice as likely to die from pregnancy complications than white women, according to a from the Ohio Department of Health.
Five Ohio representatives and one senator have signed onto a federal package of legislation that hopes to curb these pregnancy-related deaths, called the . It鈥檚 a package of 13 bills that invests in everything from nutrition programs to maternal vaccination promotion to maternal mental health initiatives.
U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes, D-Akron, co-introduced the bill last year. Speaking on the House floor last month, Sykes lamented Ohio鈥檚 high maternal mortality rates.
鈥淢otherhood should be one of the greatest, most joyful times of their lives,鈥� Sykes said. 鈥淏ut for far too many Black women in Ohio鈥檚 13th Congressional district and across the country, this experience is often overshadowed by trauma, heartache and loss.鈥�
Social determinants of health
Much of this legislation within the package aims to tackle social determinants of health, or the external factors that contribute to maternal mortality.
The would create a fund to address housing, transportation and nutrition needs. Another would expand the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) eligibility for new moms. Yet would expand data collection and research around the causes of maternal mortality.
鈥�We still see maternal mortality at such a high rate, many of them due to ineffective levels of care, toxic stress caused by racism,鈥� Jazmin Long, president and CEO of Birthing Beautiful Communities, said. 鈥淭here are so many factors that really lead into these poor birth outcomes and poor maternal fatalities that we see.鈥�
Long鈥檚 nonprofit advocates for positive birth outcomes in northeast Ohio. She said many maternal deaths are avoidable . Among the pregnancy-related deaths occurring from 2012 to 2016 in Ohio, more than half were thought to be preventable, according to a report from the .
Maternal care workforce in Ohio
Another part of the legislation will address the or maternal health care providers across the country. Across Ohio, Long said there鈥檚 a shortage of Black maternal health providers who can provide culturally congruent care.
鈥淐OVID really has decimated a lot of the workforce. And so some of the doctors and nurses who had consistently been in our hospitals retired or found other places to work because they got so burned out,鈥� Long said.
In addition to OB-GYN doctors and nurses, Long said there needs to be an effort to train more Black midwives, doulas, lactation specialists.
Thirteen of Ohio鈥檚 88 counties are considered maternity care deserts, according to the latest and many of the state鈥檚 have shuttered in the last decade.
A long road to passage
The Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act has been reintroduced for years, and has not garnered bipartisan support in the legislature. Although federal progress has been slow-moving, Long said there鈥檚 still work to be done on the state level to improve maternal mortality rates.
Ohio has recently invested in maternal and infant health. In March, Gov. Mike Dewine $5 million in funding for community organizations that support pregnant women. And the state recently approved .
But, Long said policies need to extend beyond health and address economic status in order to move the needle.
鈥淲e can look at things like universal basic income. We can look at things such as guaranteed income they're working on here in Cleveland, policies that would really 鈥� help to lift folks out of poverty,鈥� Long said.