The Commonwealth Fund, a New York research institute, ranked Texas second to last overall for women’s health and reproductive care.
Once again, Texas found itself at the bottom ranks for women’s health, with Mississippi taking the last spot. The institute’s report is the first-ever to track trends in women’s health while documenting how policy impacts women’s access to care.
The report was compiled based on 32 different metrics, including health outcomes, health care quality and prevention, and coverage, access, and affordability for each state.
“Clearly women’s health is under threat,” the report reads.
“The 2022 U.S. Supreme Court case overturning Roe v. Wade has further fractured women’s health care access and dramatically affected the ability of providers to treat pregnancy complications,” the study said.
The report showed lack of access to health services during and after pregnancy, combined with disparities in socioeconomic status led to a higher maternal mortality rate.
Texas has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality, according to the report. Between 35 and 51 women died per 100,000 births between 2020 and 2022.
In the area of healthcare quality and prevention, Texas ranked third from last, with Mississippi and Nevada at the bottom. The data for this section was measured with births by cesarean section in low-risk pregnancies, preventative care use, prenatal and postpartum care, and mental health screenings.
According to the report, almost one-third of births in the U.S. are C-sections. The research showed that though C-section delivery is a safer procedure, it’s also associated with increased maternal morbidity and mortality, according to the report.
Texas ranked in the 38th spot in the category of Health and Reproductive Care Outcomes, 49th in Healthcare Quality and Prevention, and at the bottom for Healthcare Coverage, Access and Affordability.
The top states on the report that ranked highest were Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Hampshire—across the board for all women’s health.
