Steady Maternal Death Rate Troubles CDC
The rate at which American women die from pregnancy and childbirth complications hasn’t budged in 15 years, even though half of all such deaths are preventable, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.
Every year from 1982 through 1996, maternal deaths occurred at a rate of seven or eight per 100,000 live births, the CDC said.
Like infant mortality, maternal deaths are used as a measure of a country’s overall health. In some developing nations, maternal death rates are as high as 1,700 per 100,000 births. In other countries, such as Norway and Switzerland, maternal deaths occur at about half the U.S. rate.
The CDC said the United States will probably fall short of its goal of 3.3 maternal deaths per 100,000 births by 2000.
Researchers said such deaths are rare enough that many doctors may not notice the problem. Also, many women now see pregnancy as risk-free and fail to seek prenatal care, said Dr. Isabella Danel, a CDC epidemiologist.
The CDC identified maternal deaths by looking at death certificates. However, researchers said such deaths are underreported and the real rates could be three times higher.
More than half of maternal deaths are caused by bleeding, infection, pregnancy-induced high blood pressure and tubal pregnancies, complications that can be prevented or treated with early diagnosis, the CDC said.
Many doctors have little experience handling life-threatening births, said Dr. James Gell, an obstetrician and gynecologist who teaches at Wayne State University Medical School in Detroit.
“The average obstetrician may never encounter a maternal death during a lifetime of practice,” Gell said. “So, as a result, he may not be as well prepared for the sudden, calamitous situation when it does arrive.”
The CDC said differences in maternal deaths between black and white women indicate room for improvement. It found that maternal deaths of black women ranged from 18 to 22 per 100,000 births. There were five to six deaths per 100,000 births for white women.
“That makes us think the problem is access to health care and treatment,” Danel said.
