Texas has highest maternal mortality rate in developed world

Guardian (August 20, 2016): Texas has highest maternal mortality rate in developed world, study finds, by Molly Redden: 

From 2010-14 the rate of Texas women who died from pregnancy related complications doubled according to a  new study by the journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.  The study also found that maternal mortality rates in U.S. increased in every state except California, but the increase in Texas was the most startling,  In Texas more than 600 women died for pregnancy related reasons between 2010-14.  According the study, Texas' maternal mortality rate is now higher than the rest of the developed world.

The study did not investigate the cause of the increase but noted that the increase was hard to explain “in the absence of war, natural disaster, or severe economic upheaval”.

Indeed, the report said it was “puzzling” that Texas’s maternal mortality rate rose only modestly from 2000 to 2010 before doubling between 2011 and 2012. The researchers, hailing from the University of Maryland, Boston University’s school of public health and Stanford University’s medical school, called for further study. But they noted that starting in 2011, Texas drastically reduced the number of women’s health clinics within its borders.