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?
In: 1594
“(ie the medical issue not social causes)”
It’s literally due to the social causes. You can’t politicize peoples bodily autonomy and create laws regulating what medical care that group can and cannot have access to due to their bodies containing and organ that gestates new life without severe repercussions. The sexism prevalent in medicine and the ongoing history of medical racism are direct causes of substandard medical care that leads to maternal and infant mortality. Our medicine is amazing and top notch. There’s no medical reason we should have increasing maternal mortality, at all.
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