On Tuesday, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) released the second edition of the Illinois Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Report, covering deaths occurring in 2016-2017.  Among a number of other findings, the report found that Black women continue to die at disparately higher rates due to medical causes White women were more likely to die from pregnancy-related mental health conditions. Using a variety of data sources, IDPH identifies women who died while pregnant or within one year of pregnancy (pregnancy-associated deaths). IDPH convenes two maternal mortality review committees (MMRCs), which review specific cases of maternal death to identify the causes of death, determine whether the deaths were pregnancy-related (cause of death is directly related to pregnancy), determine whether the deaths were preventable, and develop recommendations to prevent future deaths.

Key Findings:
An average of 75 Illinois women died while pregnant or within one year of pregnancy each year during 2008-2017, with the highest number recorded in 2017 (a total of 103 deaths).  In 2016-2017:

• Thirty-four percent of women who died while pregnant or within one year of pregnancy died from a cause related to pregnancy.

• The leading cause of pregnancy-related death was mental health conditions, including substance use disorders, which comprised 40 percent of pregnancy-related deaths. The next three most common causes of pregnancy-related death were pre-existing chronic medical conditions that were exacerbated by pregnancy, hemorrhage, and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

Highlights of Key Recommendations:

• Health insurance plans, including Illinois Medicaid, should reimburse for telehealth, including phone-based services, regardless of patient or provider location.

• The state and collaborating programs should expand and facilitate coordination of home visiting programs for pregnant and postpartum women with complex medical or mental health conditions.

• The state should expand implementation of promising practices for improving maternal outcomes and empowering women to engage with health care providers. The full report can be found at www.dph.illinois.gov/mmmr.