Maternal Health
Maternal health refers to the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. Motherhood and childbirth are too often associated with suffering, ill-health and even death. The United States in particular fares worse in preventing pregnancy-related deaths than all other developed nations. It is also the only developed nation where maternal mortality rates have increased rather than decreased.
Most maternal deaths can be prevented as the necessary medical interventions exist and are well known. High maternal mortality rates can be attributed to pregnant women's lack of access to quality health care before, during and after childbirth. Although lack of access to health care is major contributing factor to the high maternal mortality rates, medical experts also draw attention to the lack of protocol and proper procedure in hospitals as a contributing factor to high maternal mortality rates.
The most striking disparity in mortality rates in the U.S. is defined by race. African Americans women die at a rate that ranges from three to four times the rate of their white counterparts, and the difference in risk has remained unchanged for the past six decades. Native Americans and Alaskan Native women also fare worse than white women with approximately twice as many pregnancy-related deaths. This can be imputed to the fact that women of color tend to have less access to reproductive health information and services when compared to white women due to poverty, geographical differences and racial discrimination in the health care system.
It is obvious that access to all aspects to maternal health care must be improved upon. This includes the reformation of the insurance system, medical facilities and treatment procedures.
Nearly half the counties in the United States do not have an available obstetrician providing maternity care. Women living in a rural part of a state like Nevada may have to drive as far as 2 hours to simply receive prenatal care or give birth at a hospital. In addition, the rollback of Medicaid expansion can potentially lead to the loss of critical services including contraceptive devices, maternity care and preventive services which would disproportionately impact impoverished communities.
It is also important to put equal emphasis on the mother's health. Treatment concerning symptoms such as hypertension, preeclampsia, signs that may develop during pregnancy, or soon after delivery must be carefully monitored and administered. To demonstrate, the State of California has significantly cut on maternal mortality rates by creating collaborative manuals such as hemorrhage tool kit which detail how to respond in emergency situations. The state of California created a pregnancy-related mortality review board to research the causes of mortality and brought together clinicians, hospitals and other maternity experts to analyze the data for solutions.
The Preventing Maternal Deaths Act would help replicate this system nationwide. This act would provide states with grants to create and expand committees that review maternal deaths. It would require health care workers to report deaths and make the death reviews uniform to better capture lessons learned and ensure they are shared with doctors and hospitals.
The high rates of maternal mortality has been recognized as a consequential issue. Steps are being taken to address the problem, however, it will take persistent efforts to fully solve the various aspects of this health care crises.
References
5 Updates on Maternal Health in the United States. (n.d.). Retrieved December 29, 2018, from https://www.ajmc.com/newsroom/5-updates-on-maternal-health-in-the-united-states
Maternal Health in the United States. (2018, April 12). Retrieved December 28, 2018, from https://www.mhtf.org/topics/maternal-health-in-the-united-states/
Maternal health. (2018, December 23). Retrieved December 27, 2018, from https://www.who.int/maternal-health/en/
Ollove, M. (2018, November 04). A shocking number of U.S. women still die of childbirth. California is doing something about that. Retrieved December 28, 2018, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/a-shocking-number-of-us-women-still-die-from-childbirth-california-is-doing-something-about-that/2018/11/02/11042036-d7af-11e8-a10f-b51546b10756_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.ff40badb9869
Ungar, L. (2018, December 12). 'A critical first step': Maternal death-prevention bill passes the House. Retrieved from https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2018/12/12/maternal-mortality-bill-passes-us-house/2281797002/
