The Pregnancy Associated Mortality Review board first convened in 2011. The committee has 18 members, meets four to five times annually, and reviews all pregnancy-associated cases identified. In 2018, MO had 73,281 love births and 24 pregnancy related deaths. In addition to raising awareness of the problem of maternal mortality, the committee seeks to incorporate community perspectives on the major barriers to care for pregnant women so that it could develop targeted interventions to prevent future instances of maternal mortality.
Contacts
Primary
Name
Ashlie Otto
Credentials
RN, BSN
Title
Public Health Consultant Nurse
Affiliation
Missouri Department of Health and Human Services
MMRC Role
Coordinator
Phone
573-522-4107
Secondary
Name
Karen Harbert
Credentials
MPH
Title
Lead Maternal-Child Health Epidemiologist
Affiliation
Missouri Department of Health and Human Services
MMRC Role
State Agency Leadership
Phone
573-522-4839
Name
Crystal Schollmeyer
Credentials
RN, BSN
Title
Public Health Senior Nurse
Affiliation
Missouri Department of Health and Human Services Missouri Department of Health and Human Services
MMRC Role
Abstractor
Phone
573-751-6459
Sources of Funding
ERASE MM
Yes
STATE MATERNAL HEALTH INNOVATION
No
TITLE V MCH SERVICES BLOCK GRANT
Yes
STATE BUDGET
No
Scope of cases reviewed
All pregnancy-associated deaths (All deaths of women while pregnant or within one year of the end of pregnancy, due to any cause)
Individuals, Disciplines, and Organizations Represented on Review
Organizations | Core Disciplines | Specialty Disciplines |
---|---|---|
Academic Institutions
Behavioral Health Agencies
FIMR/CDR Programs
Healthy Start Agencies
Hospitals/Hospital Association
Professional Assoc. State Chapters
State Medicaid Agency
State Medical Society
State Title V Program
Violence Prevention Agencies
|
Community Advocates
Family Medicine
Forensic Pathology
Maternal Fetal Medicine/Perinatology
Nurse Midwifery
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Patient Safety
Patient/Family Advocate
Perinatal Nursing
Psychiatry
Public Health
Social Work
|
Cardiology
Epidemiology
Genetics
Law Enforcement
Mental Health Provider
Public Health Nursing
Quality/Risk Management
|
State Materials

Missouri Pregnancy Associated Mortality Review
2015
Upon establishing a review committee in 2011, the Missouri Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review completed a historical analysis of maternal deaths from 1999 through 2008. By 2013, the committee had not yet engaged community stakeholders, and decided to use its findings as an opportunity to raise awareness of maternal mortality in the state. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services conducted town hall meetings with health providers and the public to share its findings from reviewing more than a decade of maternal deaths. In addition to raising awareness of the problem of maternal mortality, the committee wanted to solicit community perspectives on the major barriers to care for pregnant women so that it could develop targeted interventions. The community’s feedback was consistent with the committee’s findings: limited access to care, unhealthy lifestyles, prevalence of chronic conditions and substance use, poor health literacy and inadequate provider knowledge of contributors to maternal mortality are all challenges that require greater attention. Ultimately, these findings led Missouri to prioritize preconception health on its state health agenda.