Many pregnant women die every day due to different pregnancy complications. Maternal mortality continues to rise in the U.S. even if the common complications experienced by pregnant women are preventable with proper prenatal care. Every day, an average of two women die in the U.S. due to pregnancy complications.
Pregnant women in the U.S. are also three times more likely to die of pregnancy complications compared to pregnant women in developed countries such as Britain and Japan. Huffington Post shared some of the biggest reasons for the rising maternal mortality rate in America.
A photo posted by Dr. William Cody (@drcodyobgyn) on Mar 9, 2016 at 7:01am PST
Maternal Mortality Reason # 1: Prenatal care barriers
Despite being a developed nation, some rural areas in the U.S. have few clinics and hospitals that could give proper prenatal care, while some pregnant women have no medical insurance.
Pregnant women are supposed to visit the doctor for prenatal care once a month for the first six months of pregnancy and every two to three weeks for the remaining months of pregnancy, according to Estronaut.
Maternal Mortality Reason # 2: Healthcare racism
"A report by the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP) shows that over the past 50 years, black women who gave birth in the U.S. were approximately 4 times as likely to die as white women," Huffington Post explains. "If a Latina has a complication like preeclampsia, for instance, she is 8 times more likely to die than a white woman with the same condition (a black woman with preeclampsia is 10 times more likely to die)."
Maternal Mortality Reason # 3: Lack of proper education
Many pregnant women suffer maternal death due to ignorance of the symptoms and proper prevention of different pregnancy complications. Therefore, it is of vital importance that all pregnant women get educated on the symptoms and proper prevention of these dangerous pregnancy complications.
