Data highlight

Nationwide, Maternal Mortality is three times more common for Black and Indigenous women than White women. Oklahoma is ranked 39 (of 50) for its maternal mortality outcomes. Between 2018-2021 Arkansas had the worst MMR at 43.5 per 100,000 live births and California had the best outcomes with an MMR of 10.1

HOW WE STACK UP

Deaths of women during pregnancy, childbirth, or within 42 days of a pregnancy ending, per 100,000 live births

0
Oklahoma
0
USA

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Definition

The Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) is the number of deaths from any cause related to or aggravated by pregnancy or its management (excluding accidental or incidental causes) during pregnancy and childbirth or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, per 100,000 live births.

Why we care:

Everyone deserves the right to a safe and healthy birth. However, the reality is that isn’t the case for many in our state.

Maternal mortality reflects not only the health of individual mothers but also the health of communities as a whole. 

In Oklahoma, Black and Indigenous women (67.5 and 58.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, respectively) are over three times as likely to die from childbirth or childbirth-related complications than their White counterparts (21.2 deaths per 100,000 births).1Oklahoma Maternal Health Task Force, “Oklahoma Maternal Mortality
Review Committee: 2023 Annual Report,” Oklahoma State Department of Health, 2024.
In the face of these alarming statistics, it is crucial to delve deeper into the root causes of these disparities and work towards a more equitable healthcare system for all. 

To understand these statewide disparities, the Oklahoma Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC) was established in 2019. The MMRC releases an annual report detailing maternal mortality statistics for the state at a 3 year rolling rate, the most recent MMRC Report includes data from 2019-2021. 

The report also includes recommendations to promote self-advocacy efforts by pregnant women and their families, adopt Team Birth initiatives, and increase “utilization of SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment) to improve identification of individuals in need of referral for substance use intervention and treatment.”


3-Year Rolling Maternal Mortality Rate by Race/Ethnicity, Oklahoma 2015-2021

Source: Oklahoma Vital Statistics, 2015-2021

What we can do:

This issue brief was written by Metriarch staff as part of our Data Lookbook. Review and contributions made by Joyce Marshall, MPH. 

Suggested citation
 Metriarch. “Maternal and Child Health,” Data Lookbook (2024). URL: metriarchok.org/maternal-mortality.

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