Maternal deaths on Long Island and across New York must be reduced

Becoming a mom should be a joyous moment. But for far too many, it also is a dangerous one. 

It doesn't have to be.

Across the state, 473 women, 60 of them Long Islanders, died from pregnancy-related causes between 2010 and 2019, according to the state Department of Health. Even more troubling, between 2015 and 2019, Black women were four to five times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white, Hispanic or Asian women.

The Department of Health's recent report on maternal mortality painted a frightening picture. In an extensive analysis of New York's maternal deaths in 2018, the report found that a stunning 78% of those deaths were preventable. For instance, one of the leading causes of pregnancy-related deaths was hemorrhage. Every one of those deaths could have been prevented, the health department found.

Disturbingly, discrimination of some kind was a likely factor in 46% of cases. Among other factors: a lack of adequate follow-up care, insufficient education by health care providers and others particularly regarding complications and warning signs, and instances in which providers ignored a patient's expressed concerns.

Those issues are tragically more prevalent in the care of Black women. Their needs and pain too often are ignored, the study found, and they aren't always given the same level of information, care and attention that white women receive. New York's maternal mortality racial gap is wider than that of the nation.

The health department's report, which emerged from the state's relatively new review board and advisory council, is a thorough and important step toward identifying the problem — and potential solutions.

In the budget passed in April, state officials provided $20 million a year to expand prenatal and postnatal care and, critically, extend Medicaid coverage for postpartum care from 60 days to one year. That certainly will help, but only if moms know coverage exists and care is available. Initiatives like Northwell Health's Center for Maternal Health are vital in providing resources and guaranteeing special attention for those at higher risk for complications.

Also helpful: local efforts, like Suffolk County's maternal mortality task force. Nassau doesn't have a similar group; perhaps it should, though officials there say they are addressing the problem. With or without an actual task force, the region must train a larger spotlight on the issue, and on specific communities, populations and facilities, to stop the unnecessary deaths. A coordinated, regionwide approach might be more effective.

The state review board has developed some crucial recommendations, including ways to reduce cesarean sections; develop universal protocols for screenings, anesthesia, transfusions and more; and educate families. One relatively simple one: Offer all families a postpartum home visit from a health care professional to educate them about complications.

There's much more to do. Almost all deaths connected to childbirth are preventable. That the United States and New York have some of the highest maternal death rates is unacceptable.