Saleemah McNeil, the founder and executive director of Oshun Family Center in Jenkintown, supports Pennsylvania’s new proposed legislation to track pregnancy and birth-related health complications.

If Gov. Shapiro signs the new maternal morbidity bill into law, the Maternal Mortality Review Committee that was created in 2018 would work with the Department of Health to track annual maternal morbidity rates, writes DaniRae Renno for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Legislators are hoping that the data can be used to solve the maternal health crisis in the country, especially the high death rates among Black mothers.

Maternal morbidity is different from maternal mortality, it is important to note. Severe maternal morbidity is any long- or short-term health issue that resulted from being pregnant or giving birth. Maternal mortality is when a person dies during pregnancy or from pregnancy-related complications.

The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries and Black people are more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes than their white counterparts.

McNeil said it’s important for the state to track when a person has a traumatic pregnancy or birth experience, but survives, because these “near misses” offer “a more comprehensive look at maternal health.”

McNeil also works with birth professionals to improve standards of care for obstetric patients through the Maternal Wellness Village.

“Institutionalized systemic racism is at the forefront of lots of things that happen in terms of Black morbidity and mortality,” McNeil said.

“We look at services we can give people and changes we can make within the institution and within the system.”

Read more about the new bill in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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Learn more about the worsening maternal health crisis.