Georgia Congresswoman pushing for legislation to address states high pregnancy death rates

Doctors say when compared to other states, Georgia has one of the highest rates of mothers dying while pregnant or post partum.

Channel 2 Action News Lori Wilson spoke to a Georgia Congresswoman Nikema Williams about the legislation she’s pushing to change that. It’s called the “Blood Pressure Matters Act”.

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“Black maternal health... we have the worst rates of any state in the country and i was a part of that statistic.”

Williams says she remembers the overwhelming joy and the concerns she had right after giving birth to her baby boy.

“They took my blood pressure one last time before they let me go and it was dangerously high, and i was readmitted to the hospital instantly.”

Williams says her diagnosis was pre-eclampsia and that it is one of those disorders that can go from 0-100 really quickly. Dr. L. Joy Baker, an OB with Wellstar in LaGrange, recommends her patients use a home blood pressure cuff and keep a log because of what can happen if it’s unchecked.

“The biggest risk of untreated hbp is stroke and seizures,” Dr. Baker said.

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Because half of the state’s 159 counties don’t have even one obstetrician and because Georgia has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country, Williams says she put forth a series of bills to make giving birth in Georgia safer.

The Blood Pressure Matters act requires insurers provide home blood pressure cuffs to pregnant and postpartum women.

“Georgia is the number one state to do business, we want to be the number one state to give birth we want to be the number one state to raise a baby,” Williams said. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This is one of those situations where we can avoid having to pay a pound for the cure.

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