Improving Maternal Health in the U.S. and Around the World

Since 1990, the United States is the only World Health Organization (WHO) region that has actually had an increase in maternal deaths. Although many think that maternal health problems are isolated to the developing world, challenges persist in our country. This is despite spending the most in the world on hospitalization for pregnancy and childbirth. In contrast, the countries that have been most successful in reducing maternal deaths have often achieved these results by using a midwifery model of care—an example that the U.S. may benefit from. Midwifery programs provide advanced education and training to support this model, and studies highlight the positive outcomes that result. Here, we’ll examine why maternal health may be getting worse in the U.S. and solutions that may offer better results. Maternal Health in America To measure maternal health, the World Health Organization (WHO) uses the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR), which represents the number of women who die for every 100,000 children born. A lower MMR is the goal. In the rest of the world, the MMR is trending downward, but in comparison the U.S. is lagging. According to Save the Children’s State of the World’s Mothers 2015 report, one in 1,800 women in the U.S. are at risk for maternal death, which is the highest rate for any developed country in the world. Factors that influence maternal health vary, but in this country, chronic health conditions play a key role. In fact, among the leading causes of dea...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Childbirth Children Policy Women's Health Source Type: blogs