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More Women May be Dying After Giving Birth
Filed under: In The News
As if the raging health care debate needed any more fuel added to its fire, a recent study in California indicates that the number of women dying from childbirth may be on the rise, having almost tripled in that state over the past decade, reports ABC News.
Maternal mortality is the term used in the yet to be released survey for women who die withing 42 days of giving birth, and is such a serious problem worldwide that the United Nations made reducing it to one of its eight Millennium Development Goals for 2015.
It's logical that impoverished countries where women have little access to modern health care would have high numbers of women dying in childbirth, but surely this country's state-of-the-art health care system performs admirably, right?Think again.
The United States ranks only 40th in a global comparison of maternal mortality rates -- with 11 deaths in every 100,000 live births -- tying us with Belarus and leaving us with the worst performance in the developed world, according to the World Health Organization. Ireland comes in first, with only one death in every 100,000 births; by comparison, Italy, Germany and Denmark saw three, four and three deaths, respectively.
The situation is even worse in California, ABC News reports. According to a survey conducted by the California Department of Health, the number of women who died there after giving birth has almost tripled in the past decade, rising to 16.9 deaths per 100,000 in 2006.
Many of those deaths are preventable.
"We've been able to double check the data so we can truly say there is a rise," Dr. Elliott Main, chairman of the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative, tells ABC News. "Most women died from hemorrhage, from deep vein thrombosis or blood clots, and from -- this is the surprise -- from underlying cardiac disease."
The California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative worked on the report.
The problem isn't confined to California. The Joint Commission, a major accreditation and certification group for hospitals, issued an alert this January warning that there may be a nationwide increase in maternal mortality rates. Among the leading causes for maternal death are bleeding, high blood pressure, blood clots, infection and pre-existing chronic conditions such as heart disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Related: In Britain, Half of Maternal Deaths Due to Being Overweight
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
3-11-2010 @ 3:10PM
Jennifer Moeller said...What a shock. In a country where the cesarean rate just keeps on careening closer to 50%, more women are dying in childbirth! And yet, the midwives, doulas, educated mothers, and enlightened OBs who have been screaming about it for two decades or more were just crazy fear-mongers, selfishly pursuing their own "experience" over their baby's safety, right? When I saw this story break, all I could say was, "Duh." What is the cause of so many hemhorrages and blood clots? Could it be *gasp* complications from surgeries that NEVER HAD TO HAPPEN except for a doctor or mother's refusal to BE PATIENT and let nature take its course?!
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3-11-2010 @ 3:13PM
Jamie said...I am one of the women who has survived a hemorrhage after childbirth. I can tell you I would not be here if it were not for my mother and my willingness to be my own advocate. As patients, we must do our own research and be willing to stand up to our doctors when we feel we are being ignored.
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3-11-2010 @ 3:16PM
jamie said...C-sections are not always the enemy. I had my child vaginally and still had a hemorrhage.
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3-11-2010 @ 3:19PM
Heidi said...When my children were born I was booted out of the hospital the next day. No, there were no real complications, but how would they know? Part of the problem is letting mothers go home too soon, before some of these complications may set in. My oldest daughter almost had to be hospitalized for weight loss as a newborn because she wasn't nursing properly. Even if they let new mothers stay 48 hours instead of 24 some of these problems can be caught and dealt with. And this is an effort at hospital "cost containment" HA! And Jennifer - you are absolutely right - this country does WAY too many C-sections.
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3-11-2010 @ 3:20PM
Jennifer Moeller said...I never said c-sections are the only cause of hemhorrage.....
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3-11-2010 @ 4:49PM
Ashley said...It's no surprise that the countries that fair the best in this scenario are the ones who rely first on the midwife model, then on the OB model of care. Low risk births are most often at home with an experienced midwife and only the complicated pregnancies are sent to the hospital (breech, multiples, health concerns). Makes sense to me. But here in the US, even women who desire a natural, home birth are limited by (what a shocker) their insurance coverage!
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