The State of Iowa is getting a 10-MILLION dollar federal grant to develop new strategies for improving maternal health. Dr. Stephen Hunter, a University of Iowa professor of obstetrics and gynecology, says 39 pregnant Iowa women died in the past three years.

Iowa’s maternal mortality rate has nearly doubled in the past three years. The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate of any industrialized nation.

Hunter will lead the team working on the five-year project and they plan to establish new training programs for doctors, nurses, and midwives who agree to serve pregnant patients in rural areas.