Oklahoma

Oklahoma’s maternal death rate has risen sharply, new report shows

Published

5 months ago

November 20, 2023

Oklahoma’s maternal death rate has risen sharply, new report shows

The death rate among Oklahoma women having children has risen sharply, a new state report says. The primary cause: the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although Oklahoma’s maternal death rate had declined prior to 2018, a report from the Oklahoma Maternal Health Task Force shows the number of deaths increased from 25.2 per 100,000 live births for the 2018-20 reporting period to 31 deaths per 100,000 in the 2019-21 reporting period.

A maternal death is defined as the death of a pregnant woman or a death that took place within 42 days after the termination of pregnancy, “from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management.” That definition excludes deaths for accidental or incidental causes.

Nationwide, the report said the maternal mortality rate for the United States was more than three times the rate of other developed countries.

According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, records from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show Oklahoma persistently ranks among the states with the worst rates of maternal deaths in the nation.

Between 2017-2019, Oklahoma’s maternal mortality rate was 23.5 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. This is above the national average of 20.1 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.

Why maternal deaths might be so high in Oklahoma

The most likely contributor to the increase in maternal mortality at both the national and state levels was the emergence of COVID-19.

“Several groups were, and continue to be, at greater risk of severe illness due to COVID-19, including those who are immunocompromised, have certain disabilities, or have underlying health conditions, such as those who are pregnant or recently pregnant,” the report said. “The greatest number of deaths, about 25% of maternal deaths in 2020 and 2021, were related to COVID-19.”

Additionally, the greatest increase in maternal deaths occurring in the later months of 2021 was likely due to an outbreak of the Delta variant, which surfaced in July of that year.

The pandemic also affected maternal health in other ways, the report said. A reduction in health care services, transportation and child care challenges — all centered on the fear of contracting COVID-19 — could have contributed to reduced access to health care, delayed or forgone pregnancy care and worsened outcomes,

Grading Oklahoma: A look at maternity health in the Sooner State

Despite the bad numbers, state health officials said encouraging women to get regular checkups and increasing efforts to address maternal risk factors could help reduce future deaths.

“Every interaction with any health care provider should be used as an opportunity to assess for opportunities to educate individuals on healthy behaviors and link them with resources,” Erica Rankin, a spokesman for the state Health Department, said.

Rankin said new and expectant mothers could improve their health by having chronic conditions treated and under control before getting pregnant and getting the necessary vaccinations.

The state’s infant mortality rate, too, continues to remain high. A new study by the March of Dimes puts the state’s infant mortality rate at 7.1 deaths per 1,000 births, well above the nationwide number of 5.4 deaths per 1,000 births.

Infant mortality rate in Oklahoma is also high

Although state health experts agree that challenges remain in the effort to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates, other issues may be harder to address. Rankin said several international studies show better maternal and infant outcomes occur when midwives and doulas are included in the maternity care team. She said that as of July 1, Medicaid now covers doula care.

Rankin said numerous studies showed there are currently 44 delivering hospitals in the state and 77 counties. “About a third of these hospitals are located in the metropolitan areas of the state, leaving many counties without a hospital that delivers babies and has maternity care providers,” she said.

The March of Dimes report said state officials could improve health outcomes for both mothers and infants by adopting paid family leave policies and by creating a perinatal quality collaborative to identify and improve quality-care issues in maternal and infant health care.

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Oklahoma

Indiana Running Back Transfer Trent Howland Commits to Oklahoma State

Published

6 hours ago

April 27, 2024

Press Room

Indiana Running Back Transfer Trent Howland Commits to Oklahoma State

The Cowboys got a late-night commit.

Indiana transfer running back Trent Howland took a visit to Oklahoma State this week, and he apparently enjoyed it. Howland announced his commitment to the Cowboys in the waning hours of Friday night. A redshirt sophomore this past season with the Hoosiers, Howland is listed at 6-foot-3, 240 pounds and rushed for 354 yards and a pair of touchdowns in 2023. He should have two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Howland was also considering Ole Miss, Duke and UCF, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Out of Joliet, Illinois, Howland was a three-star prospect in the 2021 recruiting class. He chose Indiana over offers from Iowa State, Nebraska, Minnesota and others out of high school.

Howland entered the transfer portal in November and initially made a commitment to Minnesota before a change of heart. He then re-entered the portal in April — leading him to Stillwater.

He becomes the second portal running back the Cowboys have taken this offseason, joining Arkansas transfer AJ Green. Howland continues what has become a trend of the Cowboys going after big, bruising backs. Ollie Gordon is listed at 6-2, 215, and the Cowboys picked up Jaden Allen-Hendrix from the high school ranks, who OSU listed at 6-2, 225 on signing day.

Howland’s best performance of the past season came in a November game against Michigan State, where he rushed 19 times for 77 yards and a score. He also had a 13-carry, 72-yard performance against Illinois.

He played nine games for the Hoosiers during the 2022 season, playing both running back and linebacker, primarily playing special teams. That year, he rushed for 12 yards on only two attempts. As a true freshman in 2021, Howland carried six times for 20 yards, redshirting while playing three games.

Howland could provide a release valve for Gordon in the carry department. Gordon carried 285 times in 2023, the eighth-most in program history. Only Gordon and Chuba Hubbard have had 280 carries in a season at OSU since 1996. Lightening Gordon’s load was a topic Mike Gundy touched on earlier this spring.

“We have a lot of carries for another back,” Gundy said. “The 30 carry a game for Ollie is somewhat concerning. Perfect world would be 20 to keep him healthy throughout for us and his career. He had to carry the load last year, moreso than what we’d like. There’s enough carries to go around.”

Picking up Howland could also be a good move for the future. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining, and many early projections have Gordon as one of (if not the) top available running backs for next year’s NFL Draft. Green has just one season of eligibility remaining. So even past him potentially playing a role in 2024, grabbing Howland now could set the Pokes up nicely in 2025.

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Oklahoma

OU Softball: Oklahoma Rides Fast Start to Open Series With Win Over UCF

Published

13 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Press Room

OU Softball: Oklahoma Rides Fast Start to Open Series With Win Over UCF

Oklahoma began its final Big 12 road trip with a bang.

Patty Gasso’s team plated five runs in the first inning, complete with a two-RBI single from Kasidi Pickering and a two-run bomb from Alyssa Brito to set the tone for a steady win in the series opener.

The No. 2-ranked Sooners went on to beat UCF 10-2 at the UCF Softball Complex on Friday.

OU (43-4. 19-3 Big 12) maintained its lead atop the conference with the win over the Knights (28-19, 10-12).

Final Box Score

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UCF helped the Sooners out immediately.

Jayda Coleman beat out a throw for an infield single and Ella Parker reached on an error, putting immediate pressure on Kaitlyn Felton.

The Knights’ starting pitcher didn’t help herself out, as she walked Tiare Jennings to load the bases with no outs.

Kinzie Hansen broke the deadlock with an RBI-single, but Ella Parker was thrown out at home to make the first out of the game.

Had Gasso kept Parker on third, she would have likely come home anyways.

Pickering singled through the left side and Brito hammered a full-count delivery to left field, putting OU up 5-0 and ending Felton’s first stint of the evening after just six batters.

Alynah Torres and Cydney Sanders both walked with one out, but OU was able to further the damage after Rylie Boone struck out and Coleman bounced out to second base.

After building the lead, Oklahoma stayed aggressive and attacked pitches early in at-bats, which produced mixed results in the second inning.

OU was able to load the bases with one out, but couldn’t bring any runs across.

Coleman added to the lead in the third, however.

The senior centerfielder stepped in and belted her 11th home run of the season, an opposite field bomb with two outs that put the Sooners up 6-0.

Kelly Maxwell finally had to work around traffic on the basepaths in the bottom of the third inning.

With Stormy Kotzelnick already on first, UCF third baseman Sierra Humphreys dropped a single into shallow-left field, but Boone was unable to corral the ball off the bounce, allowing the runners to move up to second and third.

Only working with one out, Maxwell then made a nice play herself.

Jada Cody slapped the ball back up the middle, which Maxwell gloved and shuttled over to first for the second out of the inning, then Maxwell trusted her defense and induced a ground ball from Chloe Evans to get out of the inning.

UCF went back to Felton in the circle to start the fourth inning, which was the Knights’ fifth pitching change of the game.

Both Felton and reliever Sona Halajian re-entered the game as UCF coach Cindy Ball-Malone never let OU’s offense get all the way through the lineup with the same pitcher.

Felton frustrated Oklahoma upon her return, holding the Sooners off the board as the Knights tried to get into the game.

A snafu in the field gave UCF a change to get on the board in the bottom of the fifth.

Cody singled to center with two outs, but instead of simply getting the ball back into the infield, Coleman fired down to first base.

Parker, who had been inserted into the defensive lineup at first in favor of the always steady Sanders, wasn’t ready for Coleman’s throw. The ball rolled into foul territory and allowed Cody to take second base on the throwing error.

Maxwell looked unbothered, firing two straight strikes to Evans, but the UCF right fielder battled admirably.

She didn’t allow Maxwell to coax her into a bad swing, and after taking three balls and fouling off three pitches, Evans doubled into the corner in right field to cut OU’s lead to 6-1.

Maxwell then issued a four-pitch walk, but struck out Shannon Doherty to end the inning.

Oklahoma dialed back in on Felton in the seventh.

It took just five total pitches for OU to load the bases. Hansen, Pickering and Brito all smoked singles through gaps and into the outfield.

The situation prompted another pitching change, as this time UCF called upon its fourth pitcher of the night in Ava Justman, ending Felton’s Friday.

Avery Hodge was undeterred by the change, as she drew a walk to extend the lead back out to six runs.

Boone poked her first hit of the day through the right side, narrowly missing Hodge, to put the Sooners up 8-1, and Coleman’s second walk of the day added to the advantage again.

Oklahoma’s last run of the inning scored when Parker hit into a fielder’s choice, capping off the four-run frame.

Up 10-1, Gasso left Maxwell in to record the first out of the seventh before turning to Karlie Keeney.

Maxwell allowed eight hits and two walks, but struck out five and crucially limited the Knights to the lone run in 6 1/3 innings.

Keeney swiftly notched the second out of the seventh, but she left her 1-2 delivery hanging and Evans pounced, clobbering a solo home run. UCF drew another walk off Keeney before she closed out the win.

The Sooners have a chance to notch the series victory on Saturday at 1 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

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Oklahoma

GoFundMe Launched to Support 10-Year-Old Boy Who Awoke to Discover Dad Had Killed Mom, 3 Brothers

Published

20 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Press Room

GoFundMe Launched to Support 10-Year-Old Boy Who Awoke to Discover Dad Had Killed Mom, 3 Brothers

Relatives of a 10-year-old boy who woke up earlier this week to find his parents and three older brothers dead in their Oklahoma home has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help with expenses following the murders.

The fundraiser was created by the boy’s uncle, Brent Remerowski, who wrote that the funds will go towards “funeral expenses, counseling, education, and the child’s general welfare.”

The 10-year-old boy — whose name hasn’t been shared by authorities or family — dialed 911 after waking up and discovering five bodies at home on the morning of April 22, Oklahoma City police previously said. The boy said that everyone in the home appeared to be dead, according to police.

According to ABC News, Oklahoma City Police Sgt. Gary Knight said the boy was in his room sleeping with the door closed and a box fan on during the murders, presumably muffling any sound.

“There is no indication he didn’t sleep through it,” Knight said, per the outlet.

According to police, Jonathon Candy, 42, killed his wife, Lindsay Candy, 39, after the two “became involved in an altercation” and then fatally shot three of their four children — Dylan Candy, 18, Ethan Candy, 14, and Lucas Candy, 12. Jonathon then turned the gun on himself.

From left: Jonathon Candy, Ethan Candy, Dylan Candy, and Lindsay Candy. (Not pictured: Lucas Candy.).

Jonathon Candy;Ethan Candy;Dylan Candy/Facebook

So far the GoFundMe has raised over $30,000 for the surviving boy’s family in just two days.

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“The entire family is at the beginning of [a] long journey, but everyone is focused on one and one thing only….my Nephew and his future…..thanks to all of you,” Remerowski wrote in an April 25 update.

Police have not discussed a motive for the shooting. They have asked anyone with information to call the Homicide Tip-Line at 405-297-1200.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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