Posted on 03/12/2010 4:47:31 AM PST by Cardhu
Amnesty International may be best known to American audiences for bringing to light horror stories overseas such as the disappearance of political activists in Argentina or the abysmal conditions inside South African prisons under apartheid. But in a new report on pregnancy and childbirth care in the U.S., Amnesty details the maternal health care crisis in this country as part of a systemic violation of women's rights.
The report, titled "Deadly Delivery," notes that the likelihood of a woman dying in childbirth in the U.S. is five times greater than in Greece, four times greater than in Germany, and three times greater than in Spain. Every day in the U.S., more than two women die of pregnancy-related causes, with the maternal mortality ratio doubling from 6.6 deaths per 100,000 births in 1987 to 13.3 deaths per 100,000 births in 2006. (And as shocking as these figures are, Amnesty notes that the actual number of maternal deaths in the U.S. may be a lot higher since there are no federal requirements to report these outcomes and since data collection at the state and local levels needs to be improved.) "In the U.S., we spend more than any country on health care, yet American women are at greater risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes than in 40 other countries," says Nan Strauss, the report's co-author, who spent two years investigating the issue of maternal mortality worldwide. "We thought that was scandalous." (See the most common hospital mishaps.)
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
That’s interesting. I’d love to hear your story.
You certainly have a point about mothers’ health. I’d be curious to know about the current rates of such things like gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia compared to what it used to be, the mortality rate of mothers who had IVF against those who didn’t, etc.
Good God.
Thank you for another story from Reality.
The issue here was not infant mortality, but MOTHER mortality.
Yes it is and that is why it isn’t a good idea to read and post in a hurry which I was as I had to scoot out for an appointment. However, at least it was a good example of how better record keeping and better health care can be manipulated to look like worse care. I looked thru Ann’s 10 part health care series to see if she covered mother mortality and did not find it.
“if she covered mother mortality and did not find it.”
Gee, I guess that’s because it’s not an issue! Only true-believer US-hating commies with no common sense would even bring it up!
Good point.
I wonder if they have factored in the tendancy for women to wait until later in life to bear children, the great increase in obesity, and the increased rate of caesarian section deliveries.
Yep.
And
In the U.S., Too Many BABIES Dying During Abortions.
The real tragedy is that too many babies are dying trying to have mothers.
Amnesty advocating on behalf of abortionists? =.=
Wonder how much the latest trend of women having children well past their *birthing* years plays into these numbers?
“Where there are no tangible medical complications of pregnancy, the risks of childbirth in older women are no greater than in younger women” British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Volume 108, Issue 9, September 2001.
The article on this thread says the maternal mortality rate of young black women is 400% higher than white women. Not a lot of black women are having their first over age 40.
Amnesty International’s real agenda.
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