'We can do better for moms'

Advocates focus on maternal health amid Idaho’s abortion debate

As legal battles play out in Idaho’s state and federal courts over its abortion laws, advocates for maternal and infant health are concerned about making those investments soon so that greater burdens on the state’s health care system don’t result in poorer outcomes if Idaho’s near-total ban on abortions goes into effect on Aug. 25. According to data from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, deaths among pregnant or recently pregnant women in Idaho rose from five in 2019 to seven in 2020. Those deaths do not include accidents, suicide or homicide, and are classified as directly or indirectly caused by obstetric complications. Idaho’s maternal death rate has historically been slightly higher than the national average at 27.1 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to the Idaho Medical Association, compared to 26.4 deaths nationally. That national number, which was an average based on data between 1990 and 2015, was far higher than any other developed country, with the United Kingdom the next highest at 9.2, NPR and ProPublica reported. Nationally, the CDC said the maternal mortality rate as of 2020 was 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births, up from 20.1 in 2019.