Maternal Death Rates Rise in the USA

Recently I found this article describing how the maternal death rates in the United States has risen to 13 death per 100,000 live birth in 2004; the second year in a row that the rate has risen above 10 since 1977. Experts are contributing the increase in maternal deaths to the rising rates of obesity in moms and also in the rising Cesarean section rate. From the article:

Some researchers point to the rising C-section rate, now 29 percent of all births — far higher than what public health experts say is appropriate. Like other surgeries, Cesareans come with risks related to anesthesia, infections and blood clots.
“There’s an inherent risk to C-sections,” said Dr. Elliott Main,
who co-chairs a panel reviewing obstetrics care in California. “As you do thousands and thousands of them, there’s going to be a price.”Excessive bleeding is one of the leading causes of pregnancy-related death, and women with several previous C-sections are at especially high risk, according to a review of maternal deaths in New York. Blood vessel blockages and infections are among the other leading causes.

This article is disheartening, but certainly not a surprise. A Cesarean section is a major surgery that comes with all the potential complications and risks of other major surgeries: what did they think would happen if 29% of women had such a major surgery?

I am relieved, however, to see an article like this out in the mainstream media. Lots of women agree to have a C-section for unnecessary reasons simply because they do not know, and their doctor didn't bother to explain, the risks involved with such a surgery. Now, with articles like this, women can at least realize that while C-sections certainly do have their place in modern birth, they are being done way too much for unnecessary reasons. The best thing a pregnant woman can do is educate herself on her options and rights. Again, the best thing a pregnant woman can do is educate herself on her options and rights. The maternity system in this country is in trouble, and it is only going to change if we women, as its consumers, demand it to change.

Maternal Death Rates Rise in the USA