This was my letter (see below) to the editor of USA TODAY after I found myself totally floored by their latest report in their series on #MaternalDeath“The U.S. maternal death rate is among the highest in the developed world. Eighteen states haven’t studied these deaths and others tend to blame moms.’ – Laura Ungar, USA TODAY.Thank you for joining me on my webinar where I spoke about what this means and what we can do about such a horrendous mess. Click here to view:
https://expertise.tv/…/its-time-to-tell-the-tr…/landing/9140 Let’s talk!
AMERICAN CHILDBEARING WOMEN ARE IN DEEP JEOPARDY
Thank you USA Today for this important series which sounds a clear alarm for women in their childbearing years and for the people who love them. ALL women are at risk, although certain women bear a larger burden, as a broken and unsafe system of maternity care continues unabated while we continue to collect evidence. This is not a new crisis. Rather, this ‘newly revealed’ information speaks to a deeper, more entrenched problem and that is that despite this egregious and lethal harm we don’t have a will to make any changes when it comes to the health of American women.
“Several lawmakers said a more aggressive death review panel would meddle too much in how doctors treat patients.” Exactly! There are many proven, effective and efficient solutions and best practices, including midwifery models, patient-centered models, use of para-professionals, community resource and health navigation models. And, maternal death reviews when modeled after those in other countries are integral to improving outcomes. Yet our maternal health outcomes are steadily WORSENING. Where is the justification for this continued situation, let alone the justice? This verges on the criminal. No excuses – either we are interested in saving lives or we are not.
JENNIE JOSEPH
