Maternal mortality rates have plateaued or dropped in most developed nations, except for the U.S., where it has risen. GETTY IMAGES
The U.S. is the most dangerous country in the developed world to give birth in according to a report.
About 50,000 women are “severely injured” during childbirth, and about 700 women die every year. Half of these deaths could have been prevented, as could the injuries, if correct safety procedures had been followed, according to an investigation by USA Today.
- Between 1990 to 2015, the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 births in most developed nations—including Germany, France, Japan, England and Canada—fell or plateaued to below 10. But in the U.S. the figure spiked to 26.4.
- Alison Young, the investigative journalist behind the report, told CBS This Morning : “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.”
- The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists addresses the disparity in maternal mortality between the U.S. and other developed nations on its website. It also points to the racial disparities in maternal mortality. Black women, for example, are three to four times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related complication than non-Hispanic white women.
To read this Newsweek Health Report by Kashmira Gander, please click here.
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