Maternal mortality & COMPLICATIONS in the U.S.

2/16/2020

Respond to one of the video stories you watched about birth in America. Describe 3 factors that influence maternal mortality in America among women of color. Did you realize the U.S. had such a horrible maternal rate for a developing country? What are 2 things that could be done by our healthcare system to better support expectant mothers? Be sure to credit your sources.
One of the video stories that I watched about birth in America that stuck out to me the most was on California. It occurred to me that undocumented immigrants have trouble accessing hospitals or clinics because of how scared there are about being deported. And I understand that this should be a no brainer, but it never occurred to me that one would be questioned on their immigration status to be seen at these places? I felt that as a physician or staff, their only business is on their patient’s health. It’s quite unfortunate seeing that there are mothers who are constantly on edge while bearing a child because that causes an immense amount of stress. I am just glad though that in California, they are able to offer insurance, Medi-Cal, for all expecting mothers regardless of what their immigration status may be. This is great, but I don’t understand why one’s immigration status matters over just basic human rights. All people deserve to be seen and taken care of professionally by physicians. And I think this is what is so wrong with America, our healthcare system seems to be coming a privilege rather than a right. Everyone should be entitled to proper healthcare regardless of any immigration status or socioeconomic factors.
One of the factors that influence maternal mortality in America is insurance coverage. A woman’s insurance status can impact their health and the type of care she receives before, during, and after pregnancy, which affects her likelihood of having a healthy pregnancy and delivery and of receiving necessary care after birth (Hayes). Another factor would be racial/ethnic disparities. It has been shown that those of colored have greater maternal mortality prevalence among those of noncolored. African American and Native American women are more likely to die from pregnancy related issues than Hispanic and white non-Hispanic women. Social Determinants of Health contribute to these rates because black women with a college degree were still 2.4 times more likely to suffer severe maternal morbidity and 1.6 times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related complication than a white woman with less than a high school education (Hayes). The third factor would be the accessibility to quality healthcare that is offered. There are 2.4 million women of reproductive age, have no hospital obstetric services and also face primary-care physician shortages (Hayes). All three factors affect women of color because racism and discrimination still exist. I thought that the U.S. wouldn’t be this bad, but after seeing all of the mortality and morbidity rates as well as care for women after, it just shocks me at how developed of a country we are, and we have issues like this. And to be honest, I don’t even know if we could fix this because even if you put laws out to provide for all women, there will still be racism and discrimination within the healthcare. I feel like if we all offered something similar to Medi-Cal, it would have to be a hospital or clinic where all different races/ethnicities are offered one with a familiar background or race. As shallow as it sounds, people of similar race will treat you better than a different race because they share connection and something in common; they are able to understand each other.

Spotlight a local or global non-profit or activist group that is working to improve maternal health in the U.S. (EXCLUDING; Planned Parenthood and Groundswell). What is the name of the organization, its mission, and its services that it provides?
A global non-profit group that is working to improve maternal health in the U.S. is Commonsense Childbirth. Their mission is to ensure access to maternal healthcare particularly for minority, low-income, and uninsured/underinsured women. They claim that they turn no one away regardless as they want to ensure all women have healthy pregnancy. So, I assume they don’t mind a women’s immigration status. They provide prenatal, labor and delivery, and postpartum services. They also offer programs for those who want to become a midwife and other paraprofessional courses in the maternal child health field.

References:
About. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://commonsensechildbirth.org/about/

Hayes, T. O. N., Huddleston, J., & Gray, G. (2019, September 9). Maternal Mortality in the United States. Retrieved from https://www.americanactionforum.org/insight/maternal-mortality-in-the-united-states/

Impact of Obesity on Maternal and Fetal Health. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://faculty.sites.uci.edu/messaoudilab/maternal-obesity/ (PHOTO)

5 Comments

Hannah Berg

2/16/2020 10:51:36 pm

Hi!
Thank you for sharing your perspective in regards to the influences of maternity mortality. The fact that someone's citizenship status is prioritized over receiving basic care is highly questionable and further cements the United States' faults in the discussion of human rights. I really appreciate that you candidly expressed how far-fetched baseline equity goals are. I definitely agree with you, to actually achieve real change the system and the way we conduct our practices needs to be altered which is not an easy or quick task. I think there is something to be said that having contact with providers who may come from a similar racial background or that speak the same language, potentially a better sense of familiarity or comfort in those interactions. This can also connect to how current health care practices are not welcoming to certain groups and populations; that end up deterring them from using it and compounds disparities.

Angelica Estira

2/18/2020 09:04:56 am

Hi Hannah, thank you for your response to my post! Honestly, I just didn't understand this concept here. Other countries offer care before, during and after pregnancy regardless what your race or ethnicity is. There is just so much irony with physicians or hospital staff that turn their patients down for their immigration status. The fact that they would even question is makes it seem that they care for that more than one's well-being. When their main job is to care for people who need it and are ill not to be another ICE.

Dezha S.

2/18/2020 08:19:43 pm

Hello,

It is always nice to learn of different organizations that focus on the same thing but sometimes have different approaches with how they are choosing to improve maternal health with the kind of different services they offer because any and all help is needed and encouraged. One thing that I liked specifically about this nonprofit group is how they target minority, low income, both those with and without insurance because though the overall goal is to serve and support all it is important for people to understand that there is one specific group that needs a bit more support, attention and a change with the kind of care, treatment that they receive and the kind of access they may or may not have to the needed resources in order to keep up with the health and growth of themselves and for their babies. Thank you for including this organization in your post!

Janely Gonzalez

2/20/2020 09:18:48 pm

Hi,
this specific video on birth in America resonated with me the most because I am Latina and have a lot of family and friends who are undocumented. It is so unfortunate that not everyone gets the right to health care and like you said, health care and medical visits have become such a privilege, but many people may not realize that. It can be easy to forget about problems other individuals are facing based on the fact that it does not apply to us. Human rights play such a large role in health care and I believe everyone should have the opportunity to get the quality care they need regardless of their socioeconomic status or citizenship status. Thanks for sharing!

Raiye Abunie

3/7/2020 08:48:26 pm

I really appreciate you taking the time in posting a blog regarding maternal care and health complications. I take maternal health into much interest. When you mentioned, "Social Determinants of Health contribute to these rates because black women with a college degree were still 2.4 times more likely to suffer severe maternal morbidity and 1.6 times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related complication than a white woman" have you realized the amount of care black women receive at hospitals for maternal care is less if not none compared to white women? I take this issue personally as I myself have experienced terrible care at a clinic. Educated, decent, great medical coverage and resourceful yet I was not able to receive the best of care. I was also handed down to another OBGYN who was in charge of the delivery whom I have never met before. I appreciate you taking the time to look into this.

Maternal mortality & COMPLICATIONS in the U.S.

Leave a Reply.