In recent years, the maternal death rate in the state of Texas has skyrocketed. Now, investigators have determined that the high rate of maternal deaths in the Lone Star State was actually due to inaccurate reporting on death certificates.
As The Dallas Morning-News reports, a 2016 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that a staggering 147 women had died in 2012 in Texas due to maternal complications. This gave Texas the highest maternal death rate in the developed world.
Now, it's been discovered that the actual number of women who died in 2012 was 56, not 147. The investigation found that medical and clerical staff wrongly labeled dozens of women as pregnant when they died, due to a confusing electronic labeling system.
The state is in the process of fixing the electronic system.
Texas plans to review all maternal death rates from 2013 on, to insure accuracy.
