Louisiana Ranked Second in Poor Maternal Care

The Bowling Christiansen Law Firm recently published a blog article about a USA TODAY investigation into maternal care and why the United States has been deemed the most dangerous country in which to give birth in the developed world. Now, Tulane University has announced it is conducting a study into maternal care in Louisiana.

As explained in an article published in the New Orleans Advocate on November 6, 2018, the Tulane study will be conducted by Maeve Wallace of the University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. The study will utilize $2.4 million in grants to fund the research into pregnancy-associated mortality.

This comes after the United Health Foundation ranked Louisiana second in the country in maternal mortality this year, with nearly 45 maternal deaths out of every 100,000 live births. Of these deaths, 45% were found to be preventable.

Portions of Wallace’s study will look into age, income, and race variables, and will identify how state-wide policies can affect maternal healthcare. Wallace was quoted as stating, “State legislatures are passing women’s health and social policies at an unprecedented rate, often without any information about potential impacts on maternal and child health…It is critical that we understand how policies can support or harm the health of the population so that we can hold policymakers accountable for addressing the maternal mortality crisis in this country.”

Recently, the Louisiana Health Department announced its effort to reduce maternal deaths by establishing the Louisiana Perinatal Quality Collaborative, the Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies Advisory Council, and Louisiana’s Medicaid expansion which provides Louisianans with better access to maternal care.

The attorneys at The Bowling Christiansen Law Firm have valuable experience and expertise in handling maternal care cases. If you or a loved one has suffered due to negligent maternal care, contact The Bowling Christiansen Law Firm for a consultation. For more information on the Tulane University study, visit https://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/article_a1c8a1e0-e200-11e8-a3d9-53ed16320b00.html.