Posted inCOVID, Equity, Health, News

As maternal mortality rate rises, Colorado health organizations tackle mental health and drug abuse

Birth looked different during COVID-19, said Jessica Anderson, a member of the Colorado Maternal Mortality Committee. What’s supposed to be one of the most magical — and gut-wrenching — moments of a parent’s life became isolating.  “By wearing masks, there’s so much connection that, you know, comes with facial expressions,” Anderson said. “It looks different, […]

Posted inColoradans, Health, News, Politics and Government

Death rates for pregnant Colorado women have doubled since 2008. Here’s how the state is trying to fix it.

Nelia Borden started to scream when she realized her doctor was preparing to make an incision and use a suction tool to help her give birth.  “I screamed ‘No!’ multiple times,” Borden recalled as she testified before a state Capitol committee. “I squirmed and tried to close my legs but I’d had an epidural. I […]

Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns

Sen. Buckner: It’s time to pass legislation to improve maternal health outcomes in Colorado

Last week was national Black Maternal Health Week, during which one of the three bills in the Colorado legislature that are part of the Birth Equity Bill Package passed its first hearing. When we passed legislation that created the Maternal Mortality Review Committee in 2019, we knew this was a national call to action to […]

Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns

Rep. Leslie Herod: Colorado to see maternal health legislation during the 2021 session

Now more than ever, we know that racism threatens our collective health as much as the most infectious viruses do. We also know that racism impacts childbirth.  To this day, Black and Indigenous women still face rates of mortality, morbidity, and mistreatment much higher than their white counterparts in the United States. Data suggests that […]

Posted inHealth, News, Politics and Government

Death rates among pregnant women in Colorado are climbing. Suicide and overdose are to blame.

The meeting always begins with a moment of silence for the moms who are dead, a reminder to consider the humanity behind the data they are about to discuss.  And then the doctors, midwives and mental health experts dive into the records to find the reasons pregnant women and new mothers died in Colorado. They […]