Worsening US Maternal Death Rates

The 2021 US maternal mortality rate is more than 10 times the rate of other high-income countries, according to a March 2023 CDC report. In this Q&A, JAMA Editor in Chief Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, MAS, is joined by Monica McLemore, PhD, MPH, RN, University of Washington, Audra Meadows, MD, MPH, UC San Diego, and Joia Crear-Perry, MD, founder and president of the National Birth Equity Collaborative, to discuss these concerning numbers and why preventable death rates are worsening in the US.
Topics discussed in this interview:
00:00 Introduction
01:15 Country comparison
01:47 Race disparities
02:44 Trends getting worse
03:21 Guest introductions
04:51 Inclusive language note
05:23 How did we get here?
06:44 Access and preventing deaths
09:47 Unlearning the biological basis of race
12:39 People with access still at risk
14:33 Preventing postpartum deaths
16:04 Worst outcomes in industrialized world
18:44 Metrics and improving system of care
23:58 How to reverse these trends
26:28 Reimagining maternity care post-Roe
27:43 Journals can promote lessons learned
30:10 Learning from lives of black people
32:28 Obstetric racism
35:22 Concluding thoughts
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[@JAMANetwork]

Topics discussed in this interview: 00:00 Introduction 01:15 Country comparison 01:47 Race disparities 02:44 Trends getting worse 03:21 Guest introductions 04:51 Inclusive language note 05:23 How did we get here? 06:44 Access and preventing deaths 09:47 Unlearning the biological basis of race 12:39 People with access still at risk 14:33 Preventing postpartum deaths 16:04 Worst outcomes in industrialized world 18:44 Metrics and improving system of care 23:58 How to reverse these trends 26:28 Reimagining maternity care post-Roe 27:43 Journals can promote lessons learned 30:10 Learning from lives of black people 32:28 Obstetric racism 35:22 Concluding thoughts

[@circa1890]

Such an important topic especially since Roe v. Wade overturned. 😢 The U.S. is the most dangerous developed country in the world to give birth in.