Vaccinations mean hope for an end to the pandemic is on the horizon. But in Springfield, the number of infected and ill pregnant women actually went up after vaccinations became available. That s according to Dr. Robert Abrams, head of the maternal-fetal medicine division at SIU School of Medicine and director of obstetrics for the South-Central Illinois Perinatal Center in Springfield. He said pregnant women in Springfield with COVID-19 complications are sent to HSHS St. John s Hospital, since that is where the high-risk OB-GYN doctors in town are. From March 2020 to March 2021, Abrams said about 13 pregnant women with COVID-19 were admitted during the entire year. But in April of this year, there were eight pregnant patients with COVID-19 who were ill enough to be admitted to the hospital. Every day, I might have five to 10 conversations with pregnant women regarding the safety of vaccines, said Abrams. In my experience, there s great hesitation and anxiety to receive these
WBGZ Radio 5/18/2021 |
By Andrew Hensel - Illinois Radio Network
A new report shows there are two stories to pregnancy-related maternal mortality in Illinois, and they both involve race.
In the latest years studied, 2016 and 2017, 60 women died in pregnancy-related deaths, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
The study found black mortalities were three times higher than white deaths on a percentage basis, which is down from the previous study that found black women were six times as likely to die from causes related to pregnancy as white women.
IDPH Office of Women’s Health Deputy Director Shannon Lightner said this isn’t because things got better for black women.
By Benjamin Cox on May 3, 2021 at 9:50am
A new report from the Illinois Department of Public Health says that being black or living in a rural area as a pregnant woman means you are more likely to die after childbirth.
The Illinois Department of Public Health on Thursday issued its second report on maternal mortality rates in the state, which found there were 103 pregnancy-associated deaths in Illinois in 2017 the highest number of any year in that decade. The report looked at deaths during or after pregnancy from 2016 to 2017, with 175 pregnancy-associated deaths logged during the two-year span.
The report, presented Thursday by IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike, IDPH Deputy Director Shannon Lightner and Maternity Mortality Review Committee Chair Dr. Robin Jones, found that Black women were almost three times as likely to die within one year of pregnancy than white women. The number of maternal deaths per capita was also higher in rural regions of the state, and m
Raymon Troncoso
The Illinois Department of Public Health on Thursday issued its second report on maternal mortality rates in the state, which found there were 103 pregnancy-associated deaths in Illinois in 2017 – the highest number of any year in that decade.
The report looked at deaths during or after pregnancy from 2016 to 2017, with 175 pregnancy-associated deaths logged during the two-year span.
The report, presented Thursday by IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike, IDPH Deputy Director Shannon Lightner and Maternity Mortality Review Committee Chair Dr. Robin Jones, found that Black women were almost three times as likely to die within one year of pregnancy than white women.
The governor’s office unveiled a 900-page energy overhaul bill Wednesday, accelerating a yearslong process which advocates hope will end in a comprehensive clean energy platform as the session nears its final month.
The stated goal of the bill is to drive Illinois to 100 percent “clean” energy by 2050. That, Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell said in an interview Wednesday, would include nuclear power as a major contributor. Another goal is to bring Illinois to 40 percent of its utility scale energy produced by renewables, such as wind and solar, by 2030. Right now, that number is around 8 percent.
The bill contains some of the provisions put forth in other legislation, raising the rate cap on ratepayer bills for renewable projects from about 2 percent to 3.75 percent; ending formulaic rate increases for utilities immediately; and prohibiting natural gas companies from assessing a surcharge on bills starting January 2022.