Fields, Buckner Host Summit on Strengthening Maternal Health in Colorado
Senators convened stakeholders, experts, and community members to seek information and discuss strategies to improve care and reduce pregnancy-related deaths
DENVER, CO – Senators Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, and Janet Buckner, D-Aurora, convened a summit of stakeholders, national and local experts, and community members to discuss a recent Maternal Mortality Review Committee report on on maternal mortality in Colorado and to seek solutions to reduce and prevent pregnancy-related deaths.
Attendees engaged with one another on materials presented and contributed their own expertise to identify best-practices and evidence-based strategies that will lead to policy considerations for reducing maternal morbidity and mortality in the state.
“Tragically, pregnancy-related deaths are on the rise across Colorado, and it’s hitting communities of color especially hard, which is why we convened this group to take a hard look at how we can tackle this challenge,” Fields said. “I am grateful to everyone who participated in today’s summit, and I look forward to turning what we learned into legislative action that will improve outcomes and keep more people safe while giving birth.”
“In Colorado, Black women are nearly two times as likely to die as a result of pregnancy, and for Native American women that rate it even higher. That is unacceptable, and we must do more to keep these folks safe,” Buckner said. “As someone who has championed maternal health legislation in Colorado, I know how challenging but important these issues are, and I can’t wait to roll up my sleeves and hit the ground running this session so we can turn the tide on inequity in birth outcomes and make Colorado a great place to start a family for all.”
Summit participants included maternal health care experts and advocates including Tahra Johnson, Health Director at the National Conference of State Legislatures; Meagan Robinson Maynor, Senior Program Manager for Epidemiology, Evaluation Metrics at the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs; Carrie Cortiglio, Director, CDPHE; and Mandy Bakulski, Prevention Services Division, Maternal and Infant Wellness, CDPHE.
According to the Maternal Mortality Review Committee, which studied maternal mortality outcomes in Colorado from 2016-2020, there were 174 pregnancy-associated deaths in Colorado, with the leading causes of deaths including suicide, unintentional overdose, and obstetric complications. Approximately 90 percent of those deaths were preventable. The Maternal Mortality Review Committee further found that Black and Native American Coloradans disproportionately experience pregnancy-related mortality, with Black people dying at 1.9 times the rate of the general population and Native American people dying at 2.9 times the rate of their peers while experiencing pregnancy.
Last session, Fields and Buckner sponsored SB23-288, which seeks to expand coverage and increase access to doula services, and in 2021 Fields sponsored SB21-101 which supports midwives, while Buckner sponsored SB21-194, which improved state support for maternal health care providers.