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      State Abortion Policies and Maternal Death in the United States, 2015‒2018

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          Abstract

          Objectives. To examine associations between state-level variation in abortion-restricting policies in 2015 and total maternal mortality (TMM), maternal mortality (MM), and late maternal mortality (LMM) from 2015 to 2018 in the United States.

          Methods. We derived an abortion policy composite index for each state based on 8 state-level abortion-restricting policies. We fit ecological state-level generalized linear Poisson regression models with robust standard errors to estimate 4-year TMM, MM, and LMM rate ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) associated with a 1-unit increase in the abortion index, adjusting for state-level covariates.

          Results. States with the higher score of abortion policy composite index had a 7% increase in TMM (adjusted rate ratio [ARR] = 1.07; 95% CI = 1.02, 1.12) compared with states with lower abortion policy composite index, after we adjusted for state-level covariates. Among individual abortion policies, states with a licensed physician requirement had a 51% higher TMM (ARR = 1.51; 95% CI = 1.15, 1.99) and a 35% higher MM (ARR = 1.35; 95% CI = 1.09, 1.67), and states with restrictions on Medicaid coverage of abortion care had a 29% higher TMM (ARR = 1.29; 95% CI = 1.03, 1.61).

          Conclusions. Restricting access to abortion care at the state level may increase the risk for TMM.

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          Global, regional, and national levels of maternal mortality, 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

          In transitioning from the Millennium Development Goal to the Sustainable Development Goal era, it is imperative to comprehensively assess progress toward reducing maternal mortality to identify areas of success, remaining challenges, and frame policy discussions. We aimed to quantify maternal mortality throughout the world by underlying cause and age from 1990 to 2015.
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            Unsafe abortion: the preventable pandemic.

            Ending the silent pandemic of unsafe abortion is an urgent public-health and human-rights imperative. As with other more visible global-health issues, this scourge threatens women throughout the developing world. Every year, about 19-20 million abortions are done by individuals without the requisite skills, or in environments below minimum medical standards, or both. Nearly all unsafe abortions (97%) are in developing countries. An estimated 68 000 women die as a result, and millions more have complications, many permanent. Important causes of death include haemorrhage, infection, and poisoning. Legalisation of abortion on request is a necessary but insufficient step toward improving women's health; in some countries, such as India, where abortion has been legal for decades, access to competent care remains restricted because of other barriers. Access to safe abortion improves women's health, and vice versa, as documented in Romania during the regime of President Nicolae Ceausescu. The availability of modern contraception can reduce but never eliminate the need for abortion. Direct costs of treating abortion complications burden impoverished health care systems, and indirect costs also drain struggling economies. The development of manual vacuum aspiration to empty the uterus, and the use of misoprostol, an oxytocic agent, have improved the care of women. Access to safe, legal abortion is a fundamental right of women, irrespective of where they live. The underlying causes of morbidity and mortality from unsafe abortion today are not blood loss and infection but, rather, apathy and disdain toward women.
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              Vital Signs: Pregnancy-Related Deaths, United States, 2011–2015, and Strategies for Prevention, 13 States, 2013–2017

              Background Approximately 700 women die from pregnancy-related complications in the United States every year. Methods Data from CDC’s national Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System (PMSS) for 2011–2015 were analyzed. Pregnancy-related mortality ratios (pregnancy-related deaths per 100,000 live births; PRMRs) were calculated overall and by sociodemographic characteristics. The distribution of pregnancy-related deaths by timing relative to the end of pregnancy and leading causes of death were calculated. Detailed data on pregnancy-related deaths during 2013–2017 from 13 state maternal mortality review committees (MMRCs) were analyzed for preventability, factors that contributed to pregnancy-related deaths, and MMRC-identified prevention strategies to address contributing factors. Results For 2011–2015, the national PRMR was 17.2 per 100,000 live births. Non-Hispanic black (black) women and American Indian/Alaska Native women had the highest PRMRs (42.8 and 32.5, respectively), 3.3 and 2.5 times as high, respectively, as the PRMR for non-Hispanic white (white) women (13.0). Timing of death was known for 87.7% (2,990) of pregnancy-related deaths. Among these deaths, 31.3% occurred during pregnancy, 16.9% on the day of delivery, 18.6% 1–6 days postpartum, 21.4% 7–42 days postpartum, and 11.7% 43–365 days postpartum. Leading causes of death included cardiovascular conditions, infection, and hemorrhage, and varied by timing. Approximately sixty percent of pregnancy-related deaths from state MMRCs were determined to be preventable and did not differ significantly by race/ethnicity or timing of death. MMRC data indicated that multiple factors contributed to pregnancy-related deaths. Contributing factors and prevention strategies can be categorized at the community, health facility, patient, provider, and system levels and include improving access to, and coordination and delivery of, quality care. Conclusions Pregnancy-related deaths occurred during pregnancy, around the time of delivery, and up to 1 year postpartum; leading causes varied by timing of death. Approximately three in five pregnancy-related deaths were preventable. Implications for Public Health Practice Strategies to address contributing factors to pregnancy-related deaths can be enacted at the community, health facility, patient, provider, and system levels.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                American Journal of Public Health
                Am J Public Health
                American Public Health Association
                0090-0036
                1541-0048
                September 2021
                September 2021
                : 111
                : 9
                : 1696-1704
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Dovile Vilda, Maeve E. Wallace, Melissa Goldin Evans, and Katherine P. Theall are with Mary Amelia Center for Women’s Health Equity Research; Department of Social, Behavioral, and Population Sciences; Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine; New Orleans, LA. Clare Daniel is with Newcomb Institute, Tulane University, New Orleans. Charles Stoecker is with the Department of Health Policy and Management, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.
                Article
                10.2105/AJPH.2021.306396
                34410825
                1a56af62-6aa9-4fe9-a836-20ad1ce8a7f5
                © 2021
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