Keeping Current @ the Capitol: Maternal Mortality Study Committee, Meeting Three

The third convening of the House Maternal Mortality StudyCommittee (MMSC) was held November7 at 1:00-3:00PM. The MMSC is chaired by Chairwoman Sharon Cooper(Marietta) and Chairman Mark Newton (Augusta). Legislative members of the MMSCinclude Representatives Chuck Efstration (Dacula), Deborah Silcox (SandySprings), Darlene Taylor (Thomasville), Carolyn Hugley (Columbus), and ValenciaStovall (Forest Park). Dr. Chad Ray and Dr. Jane Ellis also serve as citizenmembers of the MMSC.

This meeting focused on women’s public health initiatives,maternal cardiology, maternal stroke, and new hemorrhaging technology. To watcha recording of the meeting visit here.Below is a summary of what was discussed.

Dianne Durrence – Women’s Health Director, GeorgiaDepartment of Public Health

• Findings from the 2015 cases of the MaternalMortality Review Committee will be available prior to the 2020 session. Inaddition, 2016-2017 cases will be reviewed in 2020 and 2018-2019 cases in 2021.
• As of November 1, 2019, Georgia PerinatalQuality Collaborative (GaPQC) initiatives around postpartum hemorrhage, severehypertension, and neonatal abstinence syndrome have been implemented in 62hospitals, impacting 87% of Georgia’s births.
• Provider shortages and hospital closures acrossthe State have affected access to maternal care. Eleven labor and deliveryunits have closed in the last seven years and 89 counties do not have obstetricproviders.

Gina Price Lundberg, MD – Clinical Director of Emory Women’sCardiovascular Health Center

• Nationally, 70% of maternal hemorrhage deathsand 68.2% of maternal cardiovascular & coronary deaths are preventable.
• Given the physiological changes that womenexperience during the prenatal period, pregnancy is oftentimes the body’s firststress test. Access to primary care during the preconception period allows forbetter management of risk factors that may worsen during pregnancy.
• It is important for providers to see a womanwith a cardiovascular event during pregnancy within six months after delivery.

Jaimie Chausmer, FNP-C – Northside Hospital CardiovascularCare

• Preeclampsia occurs in about 3%-8% ofpregnancies across the U.S.
• The Maternal HeartHealth Clinic at Northside Hospital was established in 2014. It is areferral-based clinic that screens and educates news moms about their risk forcardiovascular disease.
• Ways to address maternal cardiovascular careincludes:
  • Improve prenatal care access
  • Increase education on warning signs
  • Extend Medicaid coverage up to one yearpostpartum

Diogo C. Haussen, MD – Neurology, Grady Health

• Incidence of stroke have increased from1994-1995 to 2006-2007 in the U.S. There was a 47% increase during the prenatalperiod and an 83% increase in the postpartum period.
• While subarachnoid hemorrhage occurs in0.01%-0.05% of pregnancies, there is a five time higher risk among pregnantwomen when compared to non-pregnant women of the same age.
• Prenatal and primary access are essential inimproving maternal outcomes as it relates to neurological events.

Siddarth Satish – Chief Executive Officer, Gauss Surgical

• A study assessing New Jersey and Georgia’shospital hemorrhage policies found that only 11.6% of hospitals quantifiedblood loss after a vaginal birth and 8.4% after a cesarean section.
• Gauss Surgical’s Triton Quantity Blood Losstechnology provides real-time assessment to accurately quantify blood lossduring and after birth.
• Over 75 hospitals have implemented Tritontechnology, affecting 250,000 deliveries annually. Rigorous evaluation ofimpact found significant increases in hemorrhage detection, decreases intransfusions and length of stay, and a return on investment with lab and bloodcosts.

The next Maternal Mortality Study Committee meeting will be held November 21 from 1:00-3:00PM.