05/31/2026
In a state where women die from pregnancy-related causes at more than double the national average, Republican Louisiana lawmakers quietly sidelined a resolution last week that would have forced a deeper examination of the crisis.
The resolution directed health officials to examine the state’s persistently high maternal death rates — 222 confirmed pregnancy-associated deaths from 2020 to 2022, with 84% deemed preventable.
It also called for a look into racial disparities that leave Black mothers 2.2 times more likely to die than white mothers.
Also suggested for review were gaps in prenatal and postpartum care, including the finding that only 5.2% of pregnant Medicaid beneficiaries received a case management plan of care.
The resolution also covered the collapse of obstetric services in rural parishes, including seven parishes with no birthing hospital, no obstetric providers and drives for patients exceeding an hour to the nearest facility.
It also sought scrutiny for workforce shortages, including 24 parishes with no OB/GYN providing Medicaid services.
Finally, Marcelle’s resolution was meant to measure the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of existing state maternal care programs.
Despite years of reports documenting preventable deaths, racial inequities and failures in postpartum care, Louisiana has not implemented many of the recommendations made by its own review committees. The same categories of prevention recommendations — care coordination, substance use treatment, workforce expansion, racial disparities and data infrastructure — have appeared in every Pregnancy Associated Mortality report since 2017.
https://lailluminator.com/2026/05/24/maternal-mortality-4/?fbclid=IwdGRleASIbtJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeBwYV_L7TWdEABLBgQxGCqBVp77RPudhLEu0wousq62K3YbUwQ17UAgbgeho_aem_oSQ0gV4lozOlsjsnIstXcA
The move underscores a broader trend in Louisiana’s maternal health response: Lawmakers concede the severity of the problem, but efforts to enact meaningful systemic change repeatedly stall.
