4/18/2025: The State of Maternity Care and Digital Health

Recent headlines highlight the alarming persistence of disparities, the shifting timelines of maternal risk, and the growing impact of pregnancy complications like hypertensive disorders and preeclampsia, even among those with no prior risk factors. New research is deepening our understanding of how adverse pregnancy outcomes contribute to long-term cardiovascular health—especially for overweight and obese women—while advocates continue to push for stronger policy responses and smarter tools, like remote patient monitoring, to bridge critical gaps in care.

4/16, EP Lab Digest: Pregnancy Complications Contribute to Cardiovascular Risk for Overweight Women, Study Finds

Adverse pregnancy outcomes contribute significantly to the link between pre-pregnancy overweight or obesity and cardiovascular risk factors in midlife. In addition, different types of complications affect different health risks, informing conversations about screening and intervention strategies.

4/10, The Century Foundation: State of Maternal Health 2025

A high level summary from the Black Maternal Health Federal Policy Collective on current maternal health data, advocacy efforts, and policy barriers.

4/9, The New York Times: One Third of Maternal Deaths Occur Long After Delivery, Study Finds

Pregnancy-related mortality has risen sharply, with a large percentage of deaths occurring past the time of the postpartum checkup appointment at 6 weeks.

4/9, MedPage Today: Team Behind Critical CDC Maternal and Infant Health Dataset Axed

Recent administrative changes have resulted in the elimination of the team behind PRAMS, the dataset often used by health officials to improve maternal and infant health, as well as by researchers to monitor trends and improve patient care. 

4/9, Self: I Had Postpartum Preeclampsia Like Meghan Markle. Here's What It Was Like. 

A first time mom reflects on the severity of her diagnosis and the need for better education around postpartum preeclampsia. 

3/25, American College of Cardiology: Maternal Deaths From Cardiovascular Causes on the Rise in U.S.

New findings shed light on the drivers behind recent maternal mortality trends and draw attention to particularly high rates of mortality seen among Black women and those living in Southern states.

From Babyscripts,

4/01, HIT Consultant: 5 Reasons Why Remote Patient Monitoring for Blood Pressure is Beneficial for Maternal Health

Women with no risk factors going into pregnancy are experiencing complications at higher rates than ever before, especially hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Remote patient monitoring is especially valuable for these maternal health use cases. Anish Sebastian highlights five key distinctions between HDP and chronic hypertension, and explains why RPM for blood pressure is uniquely beneficial for maternal health needs.