Severe maternal morbidity (SMM) is a measure of serious complications during birth that can result in significant short- or long-term health problems, such as a stroke or kidney problems. The prevalence of SMM adversely impacts the health system as well, as it leads to increased medical costs and longer hospitals stays. Reducing SMM by monitoring trends and implementing interventions to improve the quality of maternity care is a Healthy People 2030 goal.

About These Data

Data about Severe Maternal Morbidity in West Virginia are obtained from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s (AHRQ) publicly available Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) datasets. These data are aggregated at the state level. Counts are un-rounded, and any counts less than or equal to 10 are suppressed for confidentiality. This may cause a discontinuity in the trend lines displayed in the figures on this page.

It is important to note that HCUP only provides aggregated SMM rates; these data do not provide detailed information on the diagnoses that are leading causes of SMM in a state. Additionally, HCUP’s SMM-related in-hospital data do not contain information on health problems that result in rehospitalization in the weeks or months following birth.

What These Data Tell Us

HCUP estimates the number of cases of severe maternal morbidity using a sample of in-hospital births with the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes for 20 indicators of SMM among female patients aged 12-55 years. It is important to note that HCUP only provides aggregated SMM rates. These data tell us how often women experience severe complications during birth in West Virginia and other states. The data do not reflect maternal complications and health problems that result in rehospitalization in the postpartum period, after a new mother is discharged from the delivery hospitalization. Additionally, these data do not provide detailed information on the diagnoses that are leading causes of SMM in a state. Limited data on socio-economic factors contributing to a mother’s health are provided.