The United States continues to have the highest maternal mortality rate among rich nations, and new research suggests that the crisis is being deepened.
A study published this week in Jama Network Open found that the rate of these deaths “largely preventable” increased by almost 28% between 2018 and 2022.
“The worrying rates in the US should be an urgent priority of public health,” the study authors wrote, who also identified a disturbing gap between the states when it comes to maternal deaths.
An increase in alarm in maternal deaths
The study, using CDC data, focused on the health problems of the duration of pregnancy and up to one year after childbirth.
Of more than 18 million living births that Tok place during the four -year study period, the researchers identified 6,238 deaths related to pregnancy among women aged 15 to 54.
Surprisingly, almost a third of those deaths occurred more than six weeks after childbirth.
“Late maternal death occurs in what could be a medical care provision gap between obstetric care and the transition to primary care,” said the authors of the study.
Crisis in the south
If you are in the southeast, the news is especially gloomy.
These states had the highest rate of deaths related to pregnancy throughout the country from 2018 to 2022, with Alabama leading the list in 59.7 deaths per 100,000 living births. Mississippi tok second place.
On the other hand, California had the lowest rate in the United States. With 18.5 deaths per 100,000, followed by Minnesota.
Notable, the researchers said that if each state coincided with the California number, more than 2,679 deaths could have declared themselves during the four -year section.
The most affected young moms
The study found that the pregnancy -related death rate increased from 25,3 percent living births in 2018 to a peak or 44.1 in 2021, coinciding with the height of the Coronavirus pandemic. The rate fell slightly to 32.6 in 2022.
While the increase in deaths occurred in all age groups, women aged 25 to 39 experienced the most significant increase.
Cardiovascular disease: The number one cause of the deaths related to pregnancy, the general performance of an important role in the Espiga, Dr. Ir. Rose L. Molina, one of the authors of studies, told the New York Times.
He explained that pregnancy puts additional stress in the heart and can hidden wars or in existing conditions such as high blood pressure. At the same time, cardiovascular disease itself is becoming more common in younger adults.
“We seem that a society is sick before, so we are seeing this in that age group in particular,” said Molina, an associate professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard’s Faculty of Medicine.
Other main culprits that fed the increase in the death of death include cancer, mental health problems, substance and alcohol abuse. The study did not include accidents, homicides or other deaths not medically related to pregnancy.
The racial and ethnic division
In addition to state disparities by state, researchers also identified gaps in deaths related to pregnancy between different races and ethnicities.
Native American and native Alaska women faced the highest rates, followed by black women.
The study authors said this suggests that “these groups can face shootings in access to postnatal care, as well as other socioconic and systemic challenges that affect the results of maternal health.”
At the other end of the spectrum, the deaths that withdrew pregnancy were lower among white, Hispanic and Asian women.
]