Pregnant women in Pennsylvania at growing risk of severe health problems: Report – phillyBurbs.com

Pennsylvania women are at increasing risk of suffering serious health problems during or after their pregnancies, with severe maternal morbidity spiking by 40% since 2016, according to a new report. 
In addition, the commonwealth’s maternal healthcare systems are grappling with serious provider shortages and struggling to serve rural communities, according to an action plan released this month by the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP).
The report documents the scope of these challenges but also offers recommendations that hospitals, HAP and policymakers can adopt to improve maternal health care. 
Here are some of the report’s highlights: 
More:Pregnant women in rural Pa. face expanding ‘maternity deserts.’ Here’s why.
Serious maternal morbidity, or health problems during and after pregnancy, jumped significantly in the commonwealth from 2016 to 2022, reaching about 105 cases per 10,000 deliveries, according to the report.
HAP also noted the racial disparities in the commonwealth’s morbidity statistics, with Black women at 2.3 times the risk of white women. 
More:Could visit to Erie’s Mercy Center for Women help the state craft a maternal health plan?
An increase in preexisting health issues, such as diabetes or high blood pressure, is contributing to this trend, according to HAP. Mental-health conditions and substance-use disorders also play a major role and are the top cause of pregnancy-related deaths.  
To address this problem, the report indicates that
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In the past two decades, 38 Pennsylvania hospitals have shut down their labor and delivery units. Eighteen of these hospitals were in rural communities, where patients often have to travel further to find alternative care. 
Nearly half of women living in rural areas face a trip of 30 minutes or more from a hospital where they can give birth, according to the report. And six counties have so few services that they are classified as maternity deserts. 
To address this problem, the report says
Nearly a fifth of nurse midwife positions and certified registered nurse practitioner positions are vacant in Pennsylvania hospitals, according to the report. The problem is even worse in rural communities, where about 28% of nursing support staff roles and more than a quarter of registered nurse positions are unfilled, the document states. 
More:Erie hospitals have staffing shortages. How are they recruiting potential workers?
Adding to that, a survey recently conducted by HAP found that obstetrics and gynecology was one of the specialties most in need of more physicians. 
To address this problem, the report says
Bethany Rodgers is a USA TODAY Network Pennsylvania capital bureau investigative journalist.

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