(Washington) Four out of five pregnancy-related deaths could be prevented in the United States, according to a report published this week by the country’s health authorities, which records a very high maternal mortality rate, especially among black women.
Posted yesterday at 5:21 p.m.
The study analyzed the case of approximately 1000 women, who died between 2017 and 2019 due to pregnancy or related complications, up to one year after childbirth.
“This report paints a much clearer picture of pregnancy-related deaths in this country,” said Wanda Barfield, an official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the nation’s lead federal health agency.
Some 22% of deaths occurred during pregnancy, 25% on the day of delivery or in the following week, and 53% up to a year later.
The first cause identified, in 23% of cases, was a mental health problem (including suicide or overdose), followed by hemorrhage (14%) or heart problems (13%).
The deaths were analyzed by committees of experts at the local level – made up of gynecologists, representatives of associations, public health, etc. – responsible for formulating recommendations.
These committees had access to “various information in order to understand the circumstances surrounding each death” and thus be able, for example, “to determine a link between a suicide or an overdose and pregnancy”, explained to AFP David Goodman, of the CDC.
Pregnancy or its consequences can, for example, aggravate a mental illness, make it difficult to access psychiatric treatment, or even cause pain leading to substance abuse or self-mutilation.
A death was considered “avoidable” if there was “at least a chance” that it could be avoided by “one or more reasonable changes” within the healthcare system, or on the part of the patient or her community.
Among the recommended measures: better access to health insurance, improved pre- and post-natal care, but also better transport solutions in order to be able to access the necessary care.
The maternal mortality rate has been rising in the United States for years, and it is now one of the worst among industrialized countries.
In 2020, it stood at 23.8 deaths per 100,000 births, according to data published in February. A figure that covers strong inequalities: this rate was for example 55.3 deaths among black women, against 19.1 among white women.