More US women dying during childbirth
The risk of death during childbirth may be small, but recently released government figures show that the number of women dying while giving birth is the highest it's been in decades.
In 2003, the maternal mortality rate was 12 per every 100,000 -- which was already higher than it'd been since 1977. The new statistics now reveal that, in 2004, that rate rose again to 13 per 100,000.
The good news is that we've made dramatic gains in the last century -- as only 90 years ago 1 in every 100 women died giving birth. Plus, it's possible that the rise is superficial -- perhaps due to the a change in the way California, Montana and Idaho label a person's cause of death, or other factors that aren't technically health-related.
On the other hand, some doctors suggest that the higher number of C-section (which pose a variety of risks), along with older mothers and rising obesity rates, may all factor in to the increase.
Whatever the cause, any rise in these figures seems worrying, and worth keeping an eye on.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-25-2007 @ 6:15PM
smdryad said...
A couple thoughts. Developed countries that have midwives do most deliveries have lower rates of complications. The standard practice of epidurals, inductions, woman lying flat on her back to labor and deliver, and high c-section rate are not serving us well. Also maternal nutrition has an effect on her ability to labor effectively. The muscles of the uterus must be in top shape to contract properly and make labor more efficient. The routine of starving the mother during labor isn't helping either.
In general, the Standard American Diet (SAD) of highly processed foods doesn't not feed the body well enough for optimal health. The increasing obesity rate is just part of the resulting problem. Our diet has changed our bone structure over generations, and not for the better. This can be another factor in difficult deliveries. A lot of the problems related to the SAD are not immediately apparent, but creep up over time. I hope the medical community starts looking at why the maternal mortality rate is going up, and takes action on this. I have very little hope that nutrition will factor into their assessment, but lets hope they can take a fresh look at their practices in obstetrics, anyway.
Jen
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