Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller Convenes Second Hearing to Examine Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Rates in Cook County (Chicago, IL) — Today, Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller convened a hearing of the Cook County Board’s Health and Hospitals Committee to hear from stakeholders about ways Illinois can better protect women during and after pregnancy and childbirth. In June 2023, Commissioner Miller held the first hearing on the topic after reports showed that in 2020, Illinois had a maternal mortality rate of 23 deaths per 100,000 live births, and for Black women, that rate was six times higher — surpassing the national average. In 2024, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported that Black women in Illinois are three times as likely to die from a pregnancy-related condition as white women, an improvement over the previous report, but still unacceptable.

“The United States has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world, and in Illinois our rates mirror the national average. We cannot continue to accept these preventable deaths as the norm, and that’s why I convened a second hearing to discuss ways we can stop them from happening, we need to ring the alarm.” said Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller. “I want to thank the health care professionals who testified today and are dedicated to addressing maternal mortality in our county and state. Together, we can continue to make progress towards creating positive outcomes for Illinois families.”

During the hearing, the committee heard testimony from Dr. Lisa Masinter, IDPH’s Deputy Director of the Office of Women’s Health and Family Services; Dr. Ngozi Ezike, Director of Cook County Department of Public Health and IDPH and CEO and President of the Sinai Chicago hospital system; Dr. Nicole Williams of Cook County Physicians Association; representatives from Cook County Health including COO Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck, Dr. Fidel Abrego, Dr. Priscilla Augustine Ware and Dr. Yvonne Collins; the Cook County Department of Public Health; CountyCare and other outside experts on the maternal health crisis. They also heard from Cook County Health about the progress made towards standing up the Cook County Health Doula Program. Commissioner Miller secured $1 million in the FY2024 budget for Cook County Health to implement that program.

During her time in office, Commissioner Miller has used her previous experience in the healthcare industry to make reducing maternal mortality a priority. She called the second hearing as part of her broader efforts to address disparities in health care that result in worse outcomes for Black women. According to the National Institutes of Health, approximately 700 women die in the U.S. each year as a result of pregnancy or delivery complications, with higher deaths in women of color compared to white women. The U.S. has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world. In 2024, Commissioner Miller passed national legislation to support doula funding throughout the U.S. through the National Association of Counties (NACo).

Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller Convenes Second Hearing to Examine Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Rates in Cook County

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