Maternal Mortality on the Increase in the United States

The past 20 years in the United States have shown a disturbing trend for pregnant women. While in other parts of the world, even in some developing countries, maternal mortality has been on the decline, in the United States it has nearly doubled. Each year, between 700 and 900 women in the United States die from complications due to pregnancy.

There are several conditions that can cause a woman to die during or shortly after giving birth. These include heavy bleeding and infections. One dangerous condition is called pre-eclampsia. It refers to a type of high blood pressure during pregnancy. Left untreated, it can lead to seizures and strokes.

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There are several factors related to maternal mortality. A study in Philadelphia reviewed the cases of 19 women who had died after giving birth. Of these women, 74 percent were African-American, more than 90 percent were on Medicaid or had no insurance at all, 53 percent struggled with obesity, 32 percent had dropped out of high school and 15 percent were HIV-positive. Other studies have found correlations between age and maternal mortality. Young adolescents are at increased risk as are the women who are in the later stages of their fertility.

So, why is the rate of maternal mortality increasing in the United States? There are several suggestions offered by experts. One is that doctors have simply become more conscientious about documenting causes of death, thus artificially inflating the numbers.

Another issue may be the care women receive before, during and after giving birth. While standard procedure is to pay close attention to newborn babies, mothers are less carefully monitored. Medical professionals may miss subtle changes in a woman’s health that spell danger. Also, some women are not be able to afford medical care and may not be aware that their blood pressure is creeping up or that they are losing too much blood following a delivery.

Still another issue is that the women becoming pregnant in the United States today may be in poorer health than women of previous generations. Rates of obesity have increased, for instance, and more women are fighting opioid addictions or mental health problems.

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Around the United States, programs are popping up to try to reverse this trend. One of them is Start Safe in Philadelphia. Funded by Merck and administered by the Maternity Care Coalition, Start Safe pairs mothers who are considered high risk with professional case managers. These case managers help their clients navigate the health care system, access additional services such as substance abuse treatment, and work on lifestyle changes such as reducing the use of alcohol, caffeine and cigarettes.

While the program is still too new to have generated reliable results, anecdotal evidence shows that women assigned a case manager believed their health had improved.

The birth of a baby should be a time for celebration, not a time for loss and sorrow. If the research teaches us nothing else, we have learned that professional health care for the mother is just as important as health care for the fetus and infant. And if improved care does indeed save women’s lives, it makes sense for countries to prioritize making that care available.