Guttmacher Institute

This viewpoint article published by JAMA provides insight into the three main government data sources on U.S. maternal mortality: the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Pregnancy Related Mortality Surveillance System (PMSS); and state Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRSc). The article compares the different maternal mortality and pregnancy-related mortality rates produced by each data source and discusses the challenges of measuring maternal mortality in the U.S. The viewpoint also…

This article from Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics investigates the links between obstetric quality of care and racial and ethnic disparities. Measuring maternal care quality is complex as it involves assessing the care of two separate individuals: the mother and the infant. Improving care requires reducing obstetric interventions that can harm infants and mothers, like delivery, and avoiding suboptimal care. Little research has been conducted investigating the association between obstetric quality and racial and ethnic disparities…

This article from the Journal of Women's Health provides an expansion of the literature review on the social determinants of maternal health to include the "structural determinants of health" and "root causes of inequalities," with the ultimate goal of exploring racism as a cause of inequities in maternal health outcomes. The authors underscore the importance of the World Health Organization's Commission on the Social Determinants of Health, as it was critical to identifying and addressing…