Maternal health advocates await key Texas report on pregnancy-related deaths

Women’s health advocates say timely data can help prevent pregnancy-related and maternal deaths. The state says the report is undergoing internal review, not delayed.

Abide Women’s Health Services says up-to-date information about pregnancy-related and maternal deaths can be critical to preventing future deaths.

“They can have education, income, health insurance, and that does not eliminate the disparities that we see in maternal health outcomes,” Gia Thompson of Abide Women’s Health Services said.

Abide Women’s Health Services serves historically underserved communities through pregnancy, birth and postpartum needs in South Dallas and now Fort Worth.

“Understanding why mothers are dying is what helps us ensure that we can prevent the next mother from dying,” Thompson said.

The Texas House Women’s Health Caucus is criticizing the state Health and Human Services’ timing for the release of the 2026 Joint Maternal Mortality Report, which moved from September to December, after the midterm elections and a month before the legislative session begins.

Experts with Rice University’s Baker Institute also expressed concerns to the Houston Chronicle about expected omissions related to the first two years of the state’s near-total abortion ban.

A spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services said the biennial report is not “delayed” and is going through an internal review process.

The spokesperson said the acting commissioner directed the committee to strengthen the report to make clearer connections between the data, findings and recommendations. The agency also emphasized that the previous Legislature approved moving such deadlines to Dec. 1.

Faith Fletcher, a public health and bioethics expert, said the timing of information can affect how people view the health care system.

“It definitely influences people's perceptions of healthcare and also can really diminish public trust,” Fletcher said.

Fletcher said timely releases can influence changes in state and national health policy and help track the impacts of measures such as the expansion of postpartum care through Medicaid.

“We need evidence-based data to improve clinical practices, to improve the way that providers care for us, to think about ways to engage in better public health prevention,” Fletcher said.

Whether the latest numbers are one month or three months away, Thompson said Abide’s work will continue.

“Having the report does help us ensure that we're prepared, but we're going to provide the care that we provide no matter what,” Thompson said.

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC DFW. AI tools helped convert the story into a digital article, and an NBC DFW journalist edited it again before publication.