How to Help End Michigan’s Maternal Mortality Crisis
By Consumers for Quality Care, on June 16, 2021
![How to Help End Michigan’s Maternal Mortality Crisis](https://consumers4qualitycare.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/martha-dominguez-de-gouveia-ShJUYkshceY-unsplash-860x400.jpg)
According to Bridge Michigan, women giving birth today are 50 percent more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than their mothers were. For Black mothers, the risk is 3 or 4 times higher.
Fortunately, the American Rescue Plan includes a life-saving provision that allows states to extend postpartum Medicaid benefits from 60 days to cover the first full year after a woman gives birth.
Crucially, this provision also allows coverage of dental services. Hormones during pregnancy can impact a mother’s oral hygiene, leading to poor health outcomes and increased blood pressure, which can lead to the often-fatal condition preeclampsia.
Michigan should take advantage of this benefit to improve prevent maternal deaths and improve birth outcomes.