State Health Dept Targets Reduction in Maternal Mortality Rates

BATON ROUGE, La. (KPLC) — This week, the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) launched a project concentrated on addressing the immediate crisis of unintentional opioid overdoses, which is the primary reason for pregnancy-associated fatalities.

"We've essentially been tackling an age-old issue using outdated methods, and it's high time we approach this differently. To make significant progress in lowering maternal mortality rates," stated LDH Deputy Secretary Dr. Pete Croughan.

The LDH states that opioid use is the main reason for deaths among pregnant women in Louisiana. According to Croughan, these rates continue to rise across the state.

"The state ranks poorly when it comes to both maternal mortality rates and behavioral health outcomes, and expectant mothers and new mothers struggling with addiction represent one of the most at-risk groups within our state," stated Croughan.

This is precisely why the statewide program known as Project M.O.M., an acronym for Maternal Overdose Mortality, was initiated.

The LDH plans to promote evidence-backed training for managing opioid use disorders in hospitals and residency programs, as well as boost access to essential life-saving drugs.

There's significant shame attached to addiction among expectant mothers, which fuels a detrimental loop where they avoid treatment and end up with poorer results," explained Croughan. "Part of this initiative aims to dismantle that stigma and spread awareness that we can help these women receive proper care.

Even though most of the state experienced a notable rise, he mentioned that Calcasieu Parish was the sole parish to witness a decline.

"While the rest of the state experienced rising overdose rates, Calcasieu Parish saw a decrease of 35%. Witnessing our success in Lake Charles motivated us to expand these efforts across Louisiana," stated Croughan.

The aim of this initiative is to reduce pregnancy-associated opioid overdose deaths by 80% over three years by addressing the issues faced by mothers with opioid use disorders. It is expected that saving these approximately 65 maternal lives each year will also prevent numerous infants from being orphaned or placed into foster care.

Croughn believes the program has the potential to enhance behavioral health care services for all residents of Louisiana.