Maternal mortality rates up in United States. A recent study concluded that maternal mortality rates are down worldwide with one major exception. In the United States, one of the world’s largest developed nations, has seen a sharp spike in the number of deaths during delivery for mothers.
At present, 1 in 1800 births results in death for the mother due to a pregnancy related cause. In Washington D.C. and 48 of the states, the rate increased from 18.8 in 2003 to 23.8 in 2014. This was an over 26% rate increase.
The two remaining states were California and Texas. California saw a steady decline in maternal related deaths. Texas, on the other hand, saw a sharp increase in comparison to the rest of the country. In Texas there were 18% deaths ( per 100,000 live births) in 2009 and in 2014 (the last year of data collection) there were 35.8% deaths per 100,000 live births.
Maternal deaths in the United States are still rare compared to less developed nations. However, during this time frame, health care and access to health care in Texas was strained. There were cases during this time headed to the US Supreme Court regarding Planned Parenthood and access to abortions. Texas’ House Bill 2 in 2013 placed such stringent restrictions on abortion clinics that half closed. That law has since been struck down.
In addition, most states revised its death certificates to include maternal related deaths and some even expanded the time frame to encompass these deaths. This study was also conducted to evaluate maternal death reporting. Since 2007, maternal death rates went unpublished in the United States.
To learn more about this important topic, visit the link HERE for the article in support of this post.
