More pregnant women die from pregnancy or pregnancy-related complications in Georgia than any other state in the country, national data shows.
And that problem will likely get even worse as increasing numbers of rural Georgia hospitals shutter delivery departments because they can’t afford to keep them open.
Over 100 pregnant women in Georgia died from 2012-2013, though the causes of those deaths may not all be related to pregnancy, said. Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, head of the Georgia Department of Public Health.
A special review panel found that 60 of the 122 deaths during that time may have been caused by something other than pregnancy, Fitzgerald said.
The public health agency is awaiting a report later this month from the Maternal Mortality Review Committee to determine if Georgia has improved.
