A new report shows that maternal death rates in the United States Surpass those in other wealthy nations even if most of them are preventable. This report was recently published on June 4 in the Commonwealth Fund report. It is known as Insights into the U.S. Maternal Mortality Crisis: An International Comparison.
In 2022, women in the U.S. experienced a rate of 22 deaths per 100,000 live births due to complications in pregnancy. This rate was more than double or triple that of other wealthy nations. Black women had the highest maternal death rate at nearly 50 deaths per 100,000 live births. This clearly shows that the U.S. has poorer maternal death rates as compared to other wealthy nations.
In this study, researchers observed the data of maternal health in 14 nations. They found that 65% of women die after delivering babies. They have also found that 80% of these deaths are preventable. Heavy bleeding, high blood pressure and infections in the first week of delivery are some causes of maternal deaths. But weak heart muscles is the main cause of these deaths.
Women in the U.S. do not get any social support such as home visits and paid leaves to improve their health. But women in the other nations have access to home visits as they get at least one home visit by a midwife or nurse within the first 10 days after delivery. Many wealthy countries allow women to take paid maternity leave for at least 14 weeks. Most of them allow to take leave for more than 6 months.
The U.S. is also facing an issue of shortage of healthcare professionals that provide maternity care. They have only 16 midwives per 1,000 babies.
Senior vice president for advancing health equity at the Commonwealth Fund thinks that there is a need to make some effective strategies. Some strategies such as health insurance, more healthcare professionals and paid maternity leaves can effectively reduce the risk of maternal death.
