Thursday, April 3, 2025
4/3/2025
Connecticut Maternal Mortality Review Program - The State of Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) has coordinated a Maternal Mortality Review Program (MMRP), located in the Maternal Child Health and Access to Care Section, for the past two decades. However, it was not until 2018, that Connecticut (CT) was able to pass legislation in the CT General Assembly, Public Act 18-150, granting statutory authority to CT DPH to convene a multidisciplinary Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC) to review all CT maternal deaths, determine preventability and produce recommendations for prevention opportunities throughout the state. This project will build on the existing efforts of the DPH MMRP to comprehensively conduct a multidisciplinary review of maternal deaths in CT. In CT, there are approximately 35,000 annual births a year, and within a given year, identifies approximately 15-20 deaths that may be related to pregnancy and childbirth. CT does have racial disparities with maternal deaths, with Black/African American women and women who have Medicaid for insurance experiencing a higher percent of the maternal deaths. Through the work of the MMRC, CT identifies and characterizes these maternal deaths as Pregnancy-Related or Pregnancy-Associated maternal deaths, which are approximately 8-10 Pregnancy-Related per year. The multidisciplinary committee provides valuable input and expertise to each individual maternal death. The review committee encompasses professionals from a large spectrum of experts, OBGYNs, Nurses, community workers, community leaders, mental health and substance use professionals, the MCH Title V Director, and a mother with lived experience, who had complications while giving birth, which lends an incredible firsthand glimpse into the harrowing experiences mothers may experience in childbirth. All these members provide valuable input in determining maternal death identification and recommendations. At this current time, there are 30 members in the CT MMRC. The goals of the CT MMRC align with the CDC’s to: 1) Increased timeliness, accuracy, and standardization of information available about pregnancy-related deaths, including MMRC identified opportunities for prevention; 2) Increased engagement and cooperation between MMRCs, partners, and communities to communicate information from data on pregnancy-related deaths; 3) Increased availability of MMRC recommendations among communities, clinicians, public health practitioners, and decision makers; 4) Increased adoption of clinical and non-clinical policies and programs that reflect the highest standards of care; and 5) Increased implementation of recommendations that reach or consider the needs of populations disproportionately affected by pregnancy-related mortality. With the addition of the Informant Interviewer, the CT MMRC hopes to gather valuable information that is not evident from the medical records. The CT MMRP also plans to increase community involvement around the recommendations and dissemination activities.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).