#maternal-mortality

#maternal-mortality

Screenshot/White House Dr. Mehmet Oz was loudly condemned for referring to robot ultrasounds as pretty cool on Friday, with many Democrats highlighting a lack of doctors that forced the use of machines in healthcare. Oz, who runs the nation's Medicare and Medicaid programs, joined the visibly bored President Donald Trump and other healthcare advisers for a roundtable discussion about health care in rural America.

"If you or someone you love is going to give birth in a hospital, there is a question you need to ask before you go that can determine whether you are likely to have safe care or not," said labor and delivery nurse Jen Hamilton. Her multi-part TikTok videos amassed a combined 300,000 views their first 24 hours. "You need to know whether the hospital you are going to give birth in follows AWHONN's safe staffing standards," she continued.

But, infuriatingly, her symptoms were clear: throughout her first trimester, she seized regularly and would be unable to speak for up to 30 minutes at a time. At five weeks pregnant, doctors noticed her hypertension levels were high enough to indicate an imminent heart attack or stroke. At nine weeks, she told her aunt she had a dream of her dead relatives inviting her to the "other side." At 12 weeks, doctors noticed severe clotting in her leg.

Two-thirds of deaths occurred in hospitals, with more than half of the women dying after giving birth. The most common causes of death were haemorrhage, complications during early pregnancy and suicide. Concerns raised by coroners most frequently included failing to provide appropriate treatment or to escalate cases, and lack of training. NHS organisations, like other professional bodies, are legally required to reply to the coroner within 56 days,

The city has created a so-called "stress-free zone" in a low-income Brooklyn neighborhood where new parents can get everything from free massages to mental-health screenings to combat maternal mortality. Brownsville's "Neighborhood Stress-Free Zone" pilot - located at the Department of Health's Neighborhood Health Action Center Family Wellness Suite - opened in September to combat a deeply disturbing increase in the rate, which has been fueled by overdoses and suicides, officials said.

The 39-year-old had been told she would have to give birth to her stillborn daughter, who was called Olivia, and was given medication to bring on the labour. Within hours Jacqui was having intense contractions and at one point slumped into the arms of her husband, Lori Quate, who thought she had fainted. As staff at Ninewells Hospital rushed to help her, she suffered a cardiac arrest.

It was one of the most horrifying targets of Russia's war on Ukraine so far. Reports showed a pregnant woman on a stretcher, her face ashen with shock, legs smeared with blood and a hand holding her bump. Behind her, the bombed-out ruins of Mariupol's maternity hospital. More than a dozen people, including women in labour, were injured in the attack in March 2022. The woman photographed, Iryna Kalinina, later died along with her unborn baby.

Preeclampsia is a significant cause of death for mothers and newborns, with no known causes or cures, leading to immense suffering and loss.

Since the Dobbs decision in June 2022, the number of abortions in the US has risen, alongside increased support for reproductive rights and a surge in voluntary sterilizations.

The inquiry aims to address unacceptable risks women face during childbirth in the NHS, amid revelations of higher mortality rates among black and Asian mothers.