1,205 thousand deaths during pregnancy in America
1,205 thousand deaths during pregnancy in America: this is the highest in 60 years, double the number of black women who died
Maternal mortality has increased in the US in the last 60 years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, 1,205 mothers died in 2021 while giving birth. In 2020 this figure was 861. Whereas, in 2019, 754 mothers died during pregnancy.
The report said that the death rate of black women was twice that of white women. The maternal mortality rate for white women in 2021 was 26.6. At the same time, the maternal mortality rate of black women was 69.9. It was 2.6 times higher than that of white women.
Responding to the report, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre said – this is a crisis. The most powerful country in the world should not accept this as a reality. Iffat Abbasi Hoskins, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, says that the possibility of women dying during pregnancy has increased due to the coronavirus.
According to the CDC, corona infection in pregnant women can be fatal during delivery. Referring to research, the CDC said that having corona during pregnancy increases the risk of death of the mother by 10 times during delivery and there can be many complications.
Research said that in corona-positive women, the risk of respiratory failure during delivery, that is, the risk of going on a ventilator is also 15 times higher and the risk of death is 10 times higher. Also, the risk of being admitted to a nursing facility or care center is three times higher in corona-positive women.
According to a United Nations report, a woman dies every two minutes from complications of pregnancy, despite a drop in maternal mortality rates by a third in the last 20 years. Nearly 70 percent of deaths in 2020 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, where the rate is 136 times higher than in Australia and New Zealand. In Afghanistan, people in the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen are facing severe humanitarian crises.
Maternal mortality in Belarus decreased by a record 95.5%. On the other hand, the condition of Venezuela is very bad. Between 2016 and 2020, maternal mortality decreased in only two of the eight UN regions, by 35% in Australia and New Zealand, and 16% in Central-South Asia. The rate rises to 17% in Europe and North America.
