A New Urgency for Addressing Maternal Health
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently revealed a troubling new trend in maternal health. For the first time in 20 years, infant mortality rose in the United States, increasing by 3% from 2021 to 2022. Researchers reported that more than 20,500 babies died in 2022 before the age of one. Four states were observed as having seen significantly increased infant mortality rates: Georgia, Iowa, Missouri and Texas.
These new numbers reverse a positive trend in maternal health that saw infant mortality decline by 22% from 2002 to 2021. Even with those two decades of progress, the United States is still grappling with a maternal health crisis, marked by distressingly high mortality rates for both infants and mothers, particularly within marginalized communities. Indeed, recent data shows that the United States has the highest rate of deaths of expectant mothers of any high-income nation. And, tragically, it is estimated that 80 percent of these maternal deaths are likely preventable.
To address this heartfelt issue, Pager Health has created a Maternal Health Solution that delivers engagement, social-risk screening, navigation, behavior-based rewards, and virtual-care services at scale, providing mothers, especially those on Medicaid, with immediate access to the tools and resources they need to have a healthy pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum journey. Simply by initiating a chat conversation, expectant and postpartum mothers can immediately access a nurse for clinical guidance and compassionate support. Other benefits include:
Ongoing, proactive outreach from a clinical care team that can identify and close critical gaps in care as well as provide early intervention of potential complications.
24/7 channel-of-choice communication through app notification, secure SMS texts or virtual consultations that build relationships with providers and increase engagement.
Highly personalized support and guidance that ensures mothers receive a care plan based on their specific clinical needs, social drivers of health, and other factors.
The Maternal Health Solution also addresses another issue that impacts almost 7 million women of childbearing age. In the United States, 36% of counties have been designated as maternity health deserts. These counties have no hospitals providing obstetric care, no birth centers, no OB/GYN, and no certified nurse midwives. Now it’s possible for these women to access remote support, connect to a provider and overcome many of the prenatal care limitations imposed by their geographic location.
Connect with Pager Health for a free demo and see how our portfolio of connected care solutions can be configured to achieve your specific business objectives.
