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In Every Region of the U.S., Mothers are Living In Maternal Red Flag Zones: New Data Maps Communities Where Risks are Highest

prnewswire.com
SURG The article discusses Surgo Health's Maternal Vulnerability Index, which maps maternal health risks across the US. Surgo Health is a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) and not a publicly traded company on a US stock exchange. Therefore, it cannot be included in the analysis.

In Every Region of the U.S., Mothers are Living In Maternal Red Flag Zones: New Data Maps Communities Where Risks are Highest Surgo Health's updated Maternal Vulnerability Index – the most comprehensive picture of maternal risk since CDC's Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System was paused – reveals communities where U.S. women face highest risks of pregnancy-related complications and deaths

WASHINGTON, June 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As the Trump Administration pauses data collection for a critical maternal health surveillance program, abortion restrictions reshape reproductive care across the country, and Medicaid cuts begin closing rural maternity wards, Surgo Health today released the most comprehensive available picture of where U.S. women are most vulnerable to pregnancy-related complications and death.

The updated Maternal Vulnerability Index (MVI), which is validated against actual maternal mortality, morbidity, and birth outcomes in peer-reviewed research, maps maternal risk down to the county, zip code and census tract level across all 50 states. The MVI is a composite of 43 indicators grouped into six core themes: reproductive healthcare, physical health, mental health and substance abuse, general healthcare, socioeconomic determinants, and physical environment. Every U.S. county is scored and ranked on a scale from 0 (least vulnerable) to 100 (most vulnerable). Each county's score is shown as a quintile, ranging from "very low vulnerability" to "very high vulnerability."

"When federal data systems go dark, communities pay the price and decisions get made without the evidence needed to protect those who are most vulnerable," said Dr. Sema Sgaier, Co-Founder and CEO, Surgo Health. "The Maternal Vulnerability Index tells us exactly where the maternal red flag zones are and what factors are driving risk in each of them. Without this kind of precise, place-based intelligence, reproductive care rollbacks, Medicaid cuts, hospital closures, and other policy decisions will land hardest where communities can least absorb them."

U.S. Maternal Red Flag Zones at a Glance

By analyzing data from the updated MVI, Surgo Health has identified where the most vulnerable 10% of women of reproductive age in each U.S. Census region actually live, and has identified corresponding "maternal red flag zones" across the country. These are communities where the structural conditions most strongly associated with poor maternal health outcomes converge:

U.S. Region

Total # of Counties that are Maternal Red Flag Zones

Total # of Women at Risk in Those Counties

Top 5 Maternal Red Flag Zones

(Top 5 Counties as Measured by Women of Reproductive Age Population)

South

439 counties

2,509,844 Women of Reproductive Age (WRA)

1. Shelby County, TN (Memphis): 193,674 WRA at Risk

2. Hidalgo County, TX: 185,142 WRA

3. Cameron County, TX (Brownsville): 84,709 WRA

4. Nueces County, TX (Corpus Christi): 71,861 WRA

5. Clayton County, GA: 67,919 WRA

Midwest

113 counties

1,356,421 Women of Reproductive Age (WRA)

1. Wayne County, MI (Detroit): 351,688 WRA at Risk

2. Marion County, IN (Indianapolis): 214,544 WRA

3. Milwaukee County, WI: 202,145 WRA

4. St. Louis city, MO: 69,201 WRA

5. Trumbull County, OH (Youngstown): 33,942 WRA

West

67 counties

1,948,371 Women of Reproductive Age (WRA)

1. San Bernardino County, CA: 458,942 WRA at Risk

2. Clark County, NV (Las Vegas): 456,173 WRA

3. Fresno County, CA: 210,500 WRA

4. Kern County, CA (Bakersfield): 185,843 WRA

5. Tulare County, CA: 99,076 WRA

Northeast

9 counties

1,084,369 Women of Reproductive Age (WRA)

1. Philadelphia County, PA: 371,385 WRA at Risk

2. Bronx County, NY: 312,497 WRA

3. Essex County, NJ: 174,265 WRA

4. Passaic County, NJ: 102,276 WRA

5. Hampden County, MA (Springfield): 91,673 WRA

WRA = Women of reproductive age (ages 15–44). Maternal red flag zones are defined as the counties needed to account for the most vulnerable 10% of WRA in each region, ranked by MVI score. Note: WRA in the Northeast Maternal Red Flag Zones are not as vulnerable, overall, compared with women in the other U.S. regions. Source: Surgo Health.

The findings are striking in their geographic reach:

ADDITIONAL FINDINGS FROM SURGO'S ANALYSIS OF THE MVI DATA

WHY IT MATTERS

Unlike standard health data, the MVI allows decision-makers to pinpoint why a specific community is struggling, such as lack of transportation, poor hospital access, or socioeconomic disadvantages – enabling highly targeted, community-based interventions.

The updated MVI arrives at a moment of compounding risk for maternal health in the United States:

Download the full Surgo Health report, " Predictable, Place-Based, and Preventable: What the Updated Maternal Vulnerability Index Tells Us."

ABOUT THE MATERNAL VULNERABILITY INDEX

The Maternal Vulnerability Index (MVI) is a national data tool developed by Surgo Health that scores all U.S. geographies on a scale of 0 to 100 across six thematic domains: Reproductive Healthcare, Physical Health, Mental Health & Substance Use, General Healthcare, Socioeconomic Determinants, and Physical Environment. Available at the state, county, ZIP code, and census tract levels, the MVI has been included in more than 25 peer-reviewed publications, with research validating its association with maternal mortality, severe maternal morbidity, preterm birth, low birthweight, stillbirth, and infant mortality. First introduced in 2021 and updated annually since then, the new MVI data released today represents the first update reflective of the post-Dobbs reproductive healthcare landscape. The full report is available at https://www.surgohealth.com/mvi-report.

ABOUT SURGO HEALTH

Surgo Health is a Public Benefit Corporation building the world's most comprehensive and insightful AI-powered data platform that reveals the 'why' behind people's behaviors. We uncover the unseen drivers of health — people's beliefs, barriers, and behaviors — and transform that intelligence into scalable products that enable healthcare organizations to drive impact, reduce costs, and advance equity. By revealing the human side of healthcare, we're making it more personal, precise, and effective — for everyone.

Media Contact

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SOURCE Surgo Health, PBC