Blog
Most Dangerous Place to Give Birth in Developed World is the U.S., Study Finds
In a scary new USA Today investigation published on July 28, 2018, the United States is the "most dangerous place to give birth in the developed world." Every year in the U.S., more than 50,000 mothers are severely injured during or after childbirth. In addition, over 700 mothers die. The investigation, titled “Deadly Deliveries” claims that women are dying and suffering life-altering injuries during childbirth because hospitals are not following long-known safety measures.
Maternal death in the United States has been steadily rising year after year. The U.S. now has the highest rate of maternal injuries and death out of all developed countries. These findings are courtesy of a USA Today investigation that was conducted over the course of four (4) years. The investigation looked into the nation's hospital maternity wards and also spoke to several families who lost loved ones and to women who were permanently harmed during their deliveries. The article is definitely worth checking out to hear these harrowing examples of poor medical care.
"Experts say that about 50 percent of the deaths of women from childbirth-related causes could be prevented if they were given better medical care and that's a really surprising thing given that we're one of the wealthiest countries in the world and we spend so much on medical care. We're not just talking about the women who die, we're talking about 50,000 U.S. women who are suffering life-altering harms," USA Today investigative reporter Alison Young was quoted as saying.
The investigation found that the two leading causes of death and injuries during childbirth are blood hemorrhaging and severe hypertension – which requires hospitals to pay close attention to a patient's blood pressure and blood loss levels. The investigation found that many medical professionals are "eye-balling" how much blood a woman loses during childbirth instead of measuring it for warning signs that something's not right. How do we reduce these horrible outcomes? According to the investigation, the answer is simply more training for healthcare professionals.