One of the key traits of a highly developed country is usually that the country has a low rate of pregnancy-related deaths, both for women and their children. However, the numbers in the United States are frightening, and they are only getting worse.
Per new reports after a government study, about 700 women lose their lives every year while they’re pregnant, during delivery or from complications after delivery. The numbers continue to rise every year, as they have been doing for decades. African American women face the greatest risks.
Frighteningly, the report also claimed people could have prevented over 50% of the deaths. Such a tragic outcome was never needed. If you simply subtracted the preventable deaths by actually preventing them, the total numbers in the United States would look far more respectable.
Experts chime in
While no one thinks that all deaths must be prevented — pregnancy is inherently dangerous — they don’t have to have unrealistic goals to see that something is very wrong. Experts agree that medical care providers need to do more and need to eliminate errors and oversights that lead to some of these deaths.
“The bottom line is that too many women are dying largely preventable deaths associated with their pregnancies,” said the principal deputy director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We have the means to identify and close gaps in the care they receive. We can’t prevent every one of these tragedies, but we can and should do more.”
In relation to when these deaths occurred, the CDC was able to divide it into roughly three different categories. About one-third of women passed away while giving birth or in the next week from birth-related complications. Another third passed away before giving birth but while pregnant. The final third died long after delivering — in most cases, it was just weeks or even a few months, but they did find cases up to 12 months later.
Regardless of when they passed away, it is clear that the CDC really dug into the statistics to find out what is happening. That’s the first step toward finding out why it’s happening and working to reverse the trend.
Your options
Have you lost a loved one during pregnancy or childbirth? Do you think that doctors could have prevented the death if they had not made critical mistakes and oversights? No one likes to think it will happen to them, but the statistics show that this is only growing more likely.
If it did happen to you, then you must know what legal steps you can take in Kentucky. You may have a right to financial compensation for medical bills, funeral costs and much more.
