SAN ANTONIO – Pinpointing exactly how many mothers die from pregnancy related issues is not easy.

Experts say it is hard to track that kind of data. The Department of Health Services just finished reviewing statistics from 2012. It determined 56 moms died of pregnancy related issues that year.

Angela Montez, with the San Antonio Children’s Shelter’s Nurse-Family Partnership, said mothers in Bexar County are taking notice.

"We have been over capacity which means we have served over 200 moms a year," Montez said.

The shelter’s nurses are busy making house calls. Each has a case load of about 27 to 29 moms to follow up on. All women are first time moms without adequate health care.

"It shows that Bexar County has a need," Montez said.

This summer brought good news for the ten year old program.

"The state said we're going to give you more nurses so you can help more women in Bexar County," said Montez.

The additional five nurses will help even more moms reduce their risk of death. The moms are mostly dying of cardiac issues in the hospital. A lot of it has to do with post-partum hemorrhage and high blood pressure.

African American woman are at a higher risk of dying. They have more incidences of pre-term labor and pregnancy induced hypertension.

Preventing all deaths is unlikely because everyone's experience is different. Montez said some issues can be prevented with some guidance.

"They can do it at the hospital but what can we do before then. Can we reduce the stress in the home by providing measures to cope with what's going on in their life or get them out of situations that they need not be in," Montez said.

If you would like to learn more about the free program visit their website here.