Severe maternal morbidity and mortality is a critical health problem associated with maternal and child care in the United States. This health care problem has the probability of causing more detrimental health outcomes to the mother and the child. This is one of the reasons that I chose this problem. Conditions where people reside, work, learn and play have a significant impact on health risks and outcomes (WHO, 2022). Some examples of maternal morbidity include diabetes, blood clots, anemia, bleeding, cardiovascular problems, depression and anxiety, high blood pressure, nausea and vomiting, hyperemesis, and infections, particularly from the cesarean section. Maternal mortality can often occur due to unsafe abortion, bleeding, complications of labor and delivery, infections, and blood pressure disorders of pregnancy such as eclampsia and preeclampsia. So, maternal morbidity and mortality pose a significant threat to life, and they have been on a rising trend in the US. This gives me the second reason to choose this problem.
As defined by WHO, maternal morbidities are any health condition that is aggravated or attributed to by pregnancy and childbirth and often has adverse outcomes to the mother’s wellbeing. Just like maternal mortality, maternal morbidity has with time seen a rise (WHO, 2022). These health problems are either long or short-termed and result from pregnancy and giving birth. On the other hand, maternal mortality denotes the death of a lady due to the complications of being pregnant or delivering a baby, which often happen during the pregnancy or within the scope of six weeks after giving birth. Maternal morbidity in the US is a critical maternal and child health problem. It includes a wide array of health conditions, some of which begin when a woman is carrying the pregnancy and last for a short period only. However, some conditions do not start till years after pregnancy, and they pose difficulty to the woman’s entire life.
A range of environmental, biological, physical, and social factors have been associated with maternal and child health outcomes. These factors include socioeconomic factors such as education level attainment, income level, and pregnancy level, access to care, medical insurance coverage, and general health status. Therefore, racial and ethnic determinants are at play in determining maternal and infant health outcomes in the US (NIH, 2020). Disparities in social determinants of health have critical impacts, particularly in maternal morbidity and mortality. This is to underwrite these non-white women are greatly affected by maternal morbidity and mortality, primarily due to poor score indexes impacted by the socioeconomic disparities of health care. It is reported that black women are the most affected race by maternal morbidity and mortality as they are likely to experience these conditions on a rate of two to three-fold than white ladies.
It is estimated that over six hundred women in the US die every year due to pregnancy or childbirth complications, yet an estimated fifty percent of these complications are preventable. Even though the United States is ranked among the top spenders on maternity care, it is one of the countries globally that are mostly affected by maternal mortality rates (The Commonwealth Fund, 2021). It is also reported that about fifty thousand to sixty thousand women in America experience maternal morbidity each year. The trend on maternal morbidity and mortality is increasing and thus prompts professionals in society to swerve into action to solve this menace.
Unanticipated outcomes of labor or childbirth are associated with the severity and breadth of maternal mortality in America. The cognitive and physical development of infants and children is hugely impacted by maternal morbidity and mortality. For example, suppose a mother dies along with the pregnancy or delivery process. In that case, there is the likelihood that the infant’s or the child’s general wellbeing, including nutrition, can be affected. Breast milk is broadly recognized as the complete form of food necessary for a child’s immunity, growth, and development. More so, children bred in harmless and nurturing neighborhoods and families, without any mistreatment and other hostile childhood experiences, are highly likely to lead better lives as adults and even have better health outcomes in life.
So as to deal with the issue of maternal morbidity and mortality, several approaches can be helpful. The first is for the government to inject more funds into medical research and invest heavily in healthcare. If there is a healthcare facility in every neighborhood that is readily accessible, I believe the issue of healthcare disparity will reduce, and this health problem will be drastically reduced. Furthermore, maternal mortality will dramatically decrease once maternal morbidity cases are addressed. Because maternal morbidity is a significant measure in preventing mortality and addressing maternal health inequalities, the maternal mortality rate would be critically dealt with satisfactorily. Also, making healthcare insurance a necessity for everybody regardless of their ethnic background would help curb this problem.
In conclusion, maternal morbidity and mortality are significant health problems that considerably affect maternal and child health. If this problem is addressed with care, the United States will record a drastically reduced burden of health care. This problem needs to be promptly addressed because, as the reports show, the trend of maternal morbidity and mortality is rising. For prosperity, society needs to see minimal deaths of infants.
References
NIH (2020). About Maternal Morbidity and Mortality in the US. https://www.nih.gov/research-training/medical-research-initiatives/improve-initiative/about-maternal-morbidity-mortality
The Commonwealth Fund (2021). Severe Maternal Morbidity in the United States: Aprimer. https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2021/oct/severe-maternal-morbidity-united-states-primer
World health organization (WHO) (2022). Maternal health. https://www.who.int/health-topics/maternal-health#tab=tab_1
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