Pregnant Oregonians need more addiction and mental health support — but the state’s network is fragile

Every year, a group of Oregon health care professionals gathers for a grim exercise — reviewing every case in which a mother died during or soon after pregnancy. This past February, they reported a troubling finding: Mental health conditions and substance use were causing more of those deaths than any other factor. 

Most of the deaths were suicides or overdoses. Some of the women were homeless. Many faced discrimination or fell through cracks in the…