Most poorer countries have seen major drops in maternal mortality since 2000. While wealthy countries are generally seeing a flatlining or slight increasing trend, the rate has nearly doubled in the US. Acutely, (ie the medical issue not social causes) what is causing this to happen? What illnesses are pregnant women now getting more frequently? Why were we able to avoid these in a time (2000) where information sharing and technological capabilities were much worse? Don’t we have a good grasp on the general process of pregnancy and childbirth and the usual issues that emerge?
It seems as if the rise of technology in medicine, increasing volume of research on the matter, and the general treatment level of US hospitals would decrease or at the very least keep the rate the same. How is it that the medical knowledge and treatment regimens have deteriorated to such an extent? Are the complications linked to obesity?
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There are many factors, but one is that maternity wards are understaffed. Hospitals don’t want to pay for nurses that aren’t doing anything, but you can’t predict when people go into labor. When I went into labor early, there weren’t enough nurses on the floor. I didn’t even get a room until I was at more than eight cm.
They don’t dedicate one nurse to stay in the room with you, even after you reach a certain level of dilation or effacement. My labor was rapid, and I spent a significant part of it laboring alone, as my husband kept running around, trying to get medical help for me. Since there wasn’t anyone there, they couldn’t tell how quickly everything was happening.
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