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Maternal deaths rate are a national shame. It's time to do more to help new mothers.
The United States has the worst maternal death rate in the developed world. We continue to fail mothers by not taking steps proven to save lives.
Stacey D. Stewart
Opinion contributor
The United States is at a moment of reckoning when it comes to women's lives and safety. The avalanche of outrage we're witnessing — brought on by #MeToo moments, stubborn gender pay inequities and unconscionable maternal death rates — has shaken us from our slumber. What matters now is what we do about these systemic failures.
Plenty of issues divide us. But prioritizing the health of women, mothers and babies should not be among them. Politics has no place in the maternity ward or the neonatal intensive care unit.
As leader of the March of Dimes, an organization that has for 80 years fought for the health of America's mothers and babies, every day I confront the reality that 700 women a year needlessly die during pregnancy, in childbirth or soon after giving birth. An additional 50,000 suffer severe, life-threatening complications. The research, protocols and solutions are there to save lives, starting right now. But progress here and elsewhere must begin with a shift in how we view and treat women, starting with truly prioritizing their health and safety.
Maternal deaths are too high in the U.S.
The startling maternal death ratio in the United States — 18 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2014, the highest in the developed world — does not reflect our values or who we are. It is tragic because babies are growing up without their mothers, but doubly so because most of these deaths of women in their prime are preventable.
In other developed nations, rates of maternal death have remained steady or declined, but in the United States they've more than doubled over the past 25 years.
The ratio for black women is even more disturbing: 40 die for every 100,000 live births.
Other nations — and California, an anomaly among the 50 states — have reversed pregnancy-related death trends. The United States can, too.
Yet we continue to fail mothers by not taking steps proven to save lives. Earlier this year, USA TODAY uncovered nationwide gaps in implementing safety protocols shown to protect pregnant women and new mothers from injury and death. Reporters also found that states have not provided sufficient resources to properly study maternal deaths, a critical process that has saved lives in the United Kingdom and California.
High-profile cases such as Serena Williams' postpartum pulmonary embolism and hematoma show how even when women tell their medical teams that something is wrong, too often no one listens.
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No woman, no matter who she is, should have to say, "I almost died when my child was born," because she did not immediately get the care she needed. And yet I know from speaking to women — and particularly African-American women like me — that this is our reality.
We fail mothers, too, by not ensuring access to maternity care for every woman who needs it. A new March of Dimes report finds that5 million women live in counties considered "maternity care deserts," with no hospital offering obstetric care and no obstetric providers. An additional 10 million live in counties with limited access to maternity care.
Living far from hospitals or providers can impact a woman's ability to get the care she needs throughout her life and during pregnancy. Even if a woman lives where there are obstetric providers and hospitals with obstetric services, not having health insurance or a way to pay for care can impact a woman's health before, during and after pregnancy. The time it takes to go to appointments and the cost of getting to the doctor's office or delivery room are also barriers for both rural and urban women, especially those who are poor.
States can do more to help mothers
States such as Arkansas, Oregon, Texas and Wyoming are investigating innovative methods of reaching women during their pregnancies, including telemedicine for consultations and referrals, transportation reimbursement, subsidized housing close to the regional perinatal center, and state income tax credits for rural obstetric providers.
Such efforts strengthen my belief that things can be different. Every woman in the United States, no matter where she lives, can and should have adequate maternity care. We can work to protect women's physical and mental health throughout their lives. We can acknowledge and reduce the racial and ethnic bias and systemic inequities. We can ensure that all women have quality, affordable health insurance. We can do everything possible to make it easier for women to have healthy pregnancies and to be healthy before and after birth. We can stop making women feel they are to blame when a pregnancy goes wrong.
We must start doing all of this now.
Last month, I testified in support of legislation that aims to save women's lives by studying pregnancy-related deaths, proposing solutions in every state and looking for ways to address disparities faced by women of color. That's a start, but ending maternal deaths will be complex and will take time. The solution will not be linear. Doctors, insurers, hospitals, politicians, researchers, states and federal agencies, organizations like mine, and countless others must work together urgently to renew our commitment to protect our nation's moms.
Now is the time to turn a nation's collective outrage into collective action. After all, we can't say we care about babies if we continue to turn our backs on their mothers.
Stacey D. Stewart is president of the March of Dimes, which fights for the health of all moms and babies. Follow her on Twitter: @MarchofDimesPrz