Maternal Death During Childbirth

Most individuals are aware of the infant mortality rate. This is the death rate for babies under a year old, which is often used to prove the healthcare quality in a nation.

In the maternal death rate, what few individuals mention rarely is the number of mothers who lose their lives due to causes related to childbirth and pregnancy.

Although the United States is among the most advanced nations on the globe, the maternal death rate is quite high.

The maternal death rate, in fact, has seen an increase recently. Whereas, the rate has seen a decrease in many other developed nations. 


Most maternal deaths can be preventable. In the United States, for mothers, fathers and members of the family, there is necessary information to know regarding maternal death during childbirth, and roles played in medical malpractice and physician negligence.

There’s a heartbreaking story about a woman with an unexpected death about 20 hours subsequent to giving birth to a baby in good health. This offers some alarming statistics related to the maternal death rate across the nation.

In the United States annually, between 700 and 900 mothers perish due to causes in relation to childbirth or pregnancy; over 65,000 almost die.

These are some harrowing numbers, and among developed nations, the United States has among the worst rates in maternal death during childbirth.

In the United States, expecting and new mothers are about three times possibly to perish from complications during maternity than mothers in Canada; mothers are about six times possibly to perish compared to those in Scandinavia.

The maternal death rate in the United States, in fact, is higher than in Turkey, Iran, and Libya. 


And to add harm to injury, there is an actual increase in maternal death rate in the United States. This is despite that the rate is actually decreasing in many developed and underdeveloped nations.

Naturally, several mothers are going to be more at risk of maternal death during childbirth than others, according to recent research. However, additional research here in the United States has discovered that approximately 60% of the maternal deaths during childbirth can be prevented.

In fact, we see maternal deaths during childbirth highest among mothers in demographics, such as the following: African-American (Black); those who reside in rural areas; and low-income. 


We may even see an increase in maternal death rates due partly to more mothers birthing babies later in life. The average age today is about 27-years-old, while it was closer to 24-years-old 15 years ago. In fact, many mothers don’t have their first baby until they are 30-years-old.

Many pregnancies are unplanned, which can be a reason for the increase. This means before they become pregnant, many women don’t address persistent health issues.

In the United States, the obesity rate can lead also to various health complications, like gestational diabetes, which can make the pregnancy problematic.

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