Maternal Deaths Are Preventable
January 23rd was Maternal Health Awareness Day.
As professionals we cultivate conversations around trust and vulnerability, which routinely uncover pain, loneliness, overwhelm, and insecurity around maternal themes.
In fact, maternal mortality and morbidity rates in the US and NY are on the rise, despite our spending more per person on health care than any other high-income country.
Hospitals continue to invest in medical infrastructure “designed for women” but we hear that people’s experiences are not improving. They are worsening.
The 2018 New York State Maternal Mortality Review Report deemed 80% of pregnancy-associated (117) deaths preventable. Almost half of pregnancy-related deaths (41) were attributed to discrimination - Black, non-Hispanic individuals were 5 times more likely to die of a pregnancy-related cause than were White, non-Hispanic individuals.
We’ve strayed from birth being a celebrated community event imbued with tradition to a system that sequesters care to a medical suite and hospital ward. These are technical landscapes designed to control what is inherently uncertain. We believe this to be an important component of how hospital care falls short.
While medical and surgical interventions are essential in obstetrics, the latest NYS hospital reports indicate the East End cesarean rate is 3 to 4 times greater than the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO), which has observed little to no benefit beyond a 10-15% cesarean rate.
Pregnancy-related mortality in NYS for cesarean delivery was 1.7 times that of vaginal delivery in 2018. Post-traumatic stress and postpartum depression have both independently been associated with unplanned cesarean deliveries.
Maternal Health is also affected by the increasing prevalence of chronic health conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, and anxiety which predispose individuals to short and long term risks, including planned and unplanned cesarean delivery and postpartum depression and anxiety.
In order to improve Maternal Health outcomes we need to listen to people’s stories. Storytelling weaves the richness of human experience into symbols and patterns that carry generations of wisdom. Birthing stories reveal how subtle aspects of pregnancy and birth impact the postpartum experience, subsequent pregnancies, and cultural norms.
When we listen, we learn, and then we can do better.
Dr. Emily Anne McDonald, MD of Integrative & Regenerative Lifestyle Medicine in Mattituck
Dr. Stephenie Pisacano, ND of Tulsi Square Naturopathics in Southold
Michele Liot, CNM of East End Midwifery in Southampton
Sara Topping, Founding Board Member, East End Birth Network, Community Herbalist in Southampton
