Maternal Mortality Review Committee presents 2023 report: Idaho pregnancy‑related deaths decline but committee urges continued focus

Oren Duffin, program director for the Health Professions Bureau and executive officer for Idaho’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC), presented the committee’s 2023 maternal mortality report to the Senate Health and Welfare Committee.

Duffin said the MMRC received 13 cases for investigation in calendar year 2023; 11 met the committee’s inclusion criteria (death of a woman while pregnant or within one year of pregnancy). Of those 11, the MMRC determined five deaths were pregnancy‑related and six were pregnancy‑associated but not pregnancy‑related. Using the committee’s review methodology, Idaho’s pregnancy‑related mortality ratio declined from 40.1 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2021 to 22.6 in 2023, Duffin reported.

The MMRC found mental‑health conditions and hemorrhage were the most common causes among pregnancy‑related deaths in 2023, each accounting for about 40 percent of the five pregnancy‑related deaths. Duffin said one of the pregnancy‑related deaths involved a woman who did not seek medical care during pregnancy or postpartum. The committee reported no evidence from records reviewed that medical error or denial of care contributed to the 2023 deaths and no direct evidence of discrimination in the reviewed records.

The MMRC made several recommendations, including that the legislature consider investigating access to care for pregnant and postpartum women (including incarcerated women) and expand access to evidence‑based treatments for substance use disorder in pregnancy. The report also encourages telehealth for patients in rural and frontier areas and increased awareness of sepsis, preeclampsia and hemorrhage among providers and hospitals.

Committee members questioned committee composition and review procedures. Duffin said the MMRC membership was recruited through public posting and outreach to professional associations (Idaho Medical Association and others); members were screened for education, training and practice experience and approved by the Idaho Board of Medicine. Duffin said the membership includes obstetricians, a maternal‑fetal medicine specialist, primary care physicians and other providers similar to prior MMRC composition.

Senators asked about specific classifications in the report (for example, why three suicides appear in totals but only two were listed as pregnancy‑related). Duffin explained classifications: some suicide deaths were pregnancy‑associated but not pregnancy‑related. Senator Wintrow asked for additional clinical detail about one death involving hemorrhage after a dilation and curettage (D&C); Duffin said he is not a physician and offered to arrange for a provider on the committee to discuss the clinical specifics with senators.

Duffin said the MMRC will continue reviewing prior years (2022 and 2024) and that figures may be updated pending final vital statistics review. He closed by encouraging continued attention to the recommendations and offered to provide follow‑up detail and provider contact for clinical questions.

Senators thanked Duffin for the data‑driven presentation and asked for follow‑up contacts and clarifications on specific cases and committee membership.