Surprisingly, the United States has become the most dangerous industrialized nation in which to give birth, recent data supports.
Scary, huh?
In fact, American women are more than twice as likely to die of pregnancy-related causes as British women, three times as likely as Canadians and six times as likely as Norwegians and Poles, according to 2015 data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.
While other wealthy nations reduced maternal deaths in recent years, the U.S. maternal mortality rate jumped more than 25 percent from 2000 to 2014, researchers reported last August.
For every expectant or new mom who dies in or shortly after child birth, there are as much as 100 moms who came close to dying and were left with crippling long-term physical, emotional and economic effects. Yikes!
Think hemorrhages, strokes, aneurysms, clots, sepsis infections, cardiac arrest, organ failure and other life-threatening complications of pregnancy and childbirth.
Truth.
The Centers for Disease Control report that these problems have been on the rise, and now exceed 65,000 a year.
There are also frightening disparities also at play. African-American mothers are 3 to 4 times more likely to die or nearly die than whites.
What gives? ProPublica and NPR and Special Correspondent Renee Montagne have launched an investigative study to try to understand why so many American women die and nearly die because of pregnancy and childbirth—and how the health care system can be improved to protect more mothers from harm.
They’ve heard from 2,500 women since launching their study this past February but they are in search of more voices.
If you or someone you know passed away or nearly did during pregnancy, childbirth, or within a year after delivery, they want to hear from you. Do your part to help researchers get to the bottom of this crisis. Pretty please!
Go to this link and fill? Please tell us your story.
You can also reach the study group by email at maternal@propublica.org or maternalhealth@npr.org. Thanks much!