Maternal healthcare in Texas
The recognition that unintentional pregnancies had adverse health outcomes for mothers and increased costs of maternal and infant care coupled with ethical considerations led to the passage of Title X in 1970 and the creation of federal- and state-funded family planning programs.
[6][7][8] Under Title X funding in Texas, family planning organizations participate in the 340B drug-pricing program, which reduces contraception costs by 50–80%.
[10] Without subsidized aid, fewer clinics were able to afford contraception, and as a result, reduced access to IUDs and implants for patients.
[9] Clinics also lost their exemption status from a Texas law requiring parental consent for provision of family planning services to adolescents.
[1] One study conducted in 2010 through interviews of low-income women living in San Antonio, Texas, showed how those with limited education or in singly inhabited houses initiated prenatal care services later in their pregnancies.
The Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System is one way of gauging the mental health of women after delivery, and is used by hospitals in the state of Texas.
[14] Postpartum contraception has been deemed an integral part of the maternal healthcare system, especially because 61% of all unwanted pregnancies occur for women who have undergone delivery at least once.
[15][16] According to the World Health Organization, maternal mortality is defined as "the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy.
[23][24] In the 2016 Biennial Report, the Task Force identified cardiac event, drug overdose, hypertension, hemorrhage, and sepsis as being the top five factors contributing to maternal death in Texas.
[23][25] The Task Force is also working toward extending the number of days after delivery to which a woman in the Healthy Texas Women program can access health services.
[24] Other initiatives the Task Force has worked on include The Texas Collaborative for Healthy Mothers and Babies, which enables the delivery of postpartum health services to women while raising awareness of maternal and infant mortality.
[24] Other programs such as Someday Starts Now and Preconception Peer Education, work to raise community awareness of maternal morbidity and mortality, and are specifically targeted to minority populations of childbearing age.
[24] The Task Force is planning to allocate Title V funding to these programs and thus strengthen community health and awareness of maternal mortality and morbidity.
