The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) released the second edition of the Illinois Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Report (Illinois Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Report 2016-2017). This report builds on the important work of two IDPH committees, the Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC) and the Maternal Mortality Review Committee for Violent Deaths (MMRC-V), which was captured in Illinois’ first ever report on maternal morbidity and mortality and released in 2018. The first report included detailed statewide data and recommendations that would help prevent maternal morbidity and mortality, while also improving the overall health of women of reproductive age. We are humbled at the response to the first report.
This second report continues identifying statewide patterns in maternal health and providing recommendations directed at key stakeholders to prevent maternal mortalities and morbidities. Additionally, this report expands the discussion to include factors that play a role in maternal health and contribute to the health disparities and inequities observed in Illinois’ maternal health outcomes.
Using a variety of data sources, the IDPH identifies all deaths of women while pregnant or within one year of pregnancy (pregnancy-associated deaths). The two maternal mortality review committees reviewed 129 maternal deaths that occurred during 2016-2017 to develop the recommendations in this report.
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