Danger in delivery: Despite technology, U.S. trails entire western world in saving mothers
Cesarean sections, once considered emergency procedures, have become all but routine in the U.S. Experts say the procedure contributes to maternal deaths.
Women in the United States are more likely to die during or shortly after childbirth than women in nearly all countries in Europe and many in Asia and the Middle East, according to the United Nations.
While maternal mortality declined in most countries over the past 20 years, it has not just increased, but nearly doubled, in the United States.
Experts blame the high death rate partly on the heavy reliance the United States places on technological intervention, particularly when it results, as it so often does, in surgical delivery via cesarean section. They say motivators include both convenience and fear of litigation in the event of a less-than-perfect outcome.
Originally meant to be strictly an emergency action to save a struggling baby, it has become all but routine in the U.S. It is now used in almost one-third of all American births.
“Cesarean section is meant to be sort of a last resort, when there’s no way the baby is going to be born alive otherwise or the mother’s or baby’s life will be endangered,” said medical anthropologist, reproductive biology professor and registered midwife Melissa Cheyney. “Now it’s sort of becoming commonplace, and that’s where the problem lies.”
Cheyney, a member of the biology department faculty at Oregon State University, studies maternal and child health across different cultures. A practicing midwife on the side, she also chairs the state Board of Direct Entry Midwifery. And her experience in both realms convinces her America’s maternal mortality rate is too high.
“
