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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I did a quick bit of research on this a few years ago and found little to know actual increase, but a standardization of how to measure and report it. Several states were tracking it differently. Some states included deaths of pregnant mothers, some didn’t. Some included deaths up to six months postpartum. Some were up to 24 months. When these metrics were normalized across several states, it looked as though it was an increase but it was the change in how it was measured.
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