The rate of mothers who died during pregnancy or within six weeks of childbirth rose sharply in the second year of the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.
In 2021, 1,205 women nationwide died from maternal causes, compared to 861 in 2020 and 754 in 2019, according to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics reported. The maternal mortality rate was 32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2021, an increase of about 38% from 23.8 deaths in 2020 and about 63% from 20.1 deaths in 2019.
“Between 2020 and 2021, the number of deaths in these women during pregnancy or within 42 days of pregnancy increased across age, race, and Hispanic origin groups,” CDC statistician Donna Hoyert, the report’s author, told the Washington Times.
The country’s maternal mortality rates for 2020 and 2021 were each much higher than the estimated rates of some other high-income countries – including Australia, Austria, Israel, Japan and Spain – all of which had an average of 2-3 deaths per 100,000 births in 2020.
According to the latest World Health Organization dataIn 2020, the overall maternal mortality rate in high-income countries was 12 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared to 430 in low-income countries.
Although the CDC didn’t explain the reasons for the spike in the US, some doctors noted that many women avoided seeing the doctor for anything other than COVID during the pandemic restrictions.
“While this is likely multifactorial, a potential decline in clinical visits to OB/GYN practices during this time should be considered, as has been the case for other specialties. Therefore, high-risk potential mothers-to-be may not have been properly prepared for their pregnancies and births,” said Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos, Physician at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Katy Talento, who served as the senior health adviser on the White House Domestic Affairs Council under President Donald Trump before the pandemic, said the deaths likely included young mothers who refused to comply with COVID vaccine mandates or who were afraid to stay alive during the blocking to leave the house.
“This spike in deaths among America’s new mothers is a national catastrophe that shines a direct spotlight on the unscientific government policies implemented during their pregnancies: lockdowns that have stressed families and destroyed souls and bodies, and the dangerous vaccination policies that have plagued pregnant women imposed on workers desperate to make a living,” Ms Talento said.
The maternal mortality rate was highest among black Americans. According to the CDC, 69.9 black women died for every 100,000 live births in 2021, 2.6 times more than white women.
Other factors were likely limited access to health care and growing financial difficulties for low-educated mothers amid the restrictions, said clinical psychologist Thomas Plante, a member of the American Psychological Association. He said this has contributed to the psychological stress and fear of contracting COVID, which has led many people to delay or avoid routine doctor visits.
“The influencing factors can include a variety of issues such as education, access to health care and insurance, poverty and other issues,” said Mr. Plante, who teaches at Santa Clara University in California. “As we recover from COVID, one would expect these trends to reverse, but there are so many potential moderating variables that only time will tell.”
Source : www.washingtontimes.com