Increase in US pregnancy-related mortality linked to Coronavirus
Last year, Coronavirus caused a sharp rise in the number of women in the United States who died from pregnancy-related or childbirth-related issues; this crisis has disproportionately affected Black and Hispanic women.
In the United States, the COVID-19 outbreak significantly increased the number of women who died from complications during pregnancy or delivery last year, disproportionately impacting black and Hispanic women, according to a government assessment issued on Wednesday.
Alarming nationwide trends in the death of expectant women and babies were discovered by the investigation.
It revealed that of the 1,178 deaths reported in 2018, coronavirus accounted for one-fifth, an increase in pregnancy-related mortality of almost 80%. After several years of stability, the proportion of infants born preterm and with low birth weight climbed last year. Women who are expecting or just gave birth are experiencing depressive symptoms more frequently.
We were already in the midst of a catastrophe with regard to maternal mortality in our nation, according to Karen Tabb Dina, a researcher on maternal health at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This demonstrates that COVID-19 has made the issue so bad that our nation is unable to handle it any longer.
The impartial US Government Accountability Office, which was hired to compile the report after Congress required a maternal health study as part of the Coronavirus Control Act of 2020, was asked to evaluate pregnancy-related mortality.
The United States had a higher rate of maternal death than many other affluent nations, and this rate had been rising in the years before to the epidemic. However, COVID-19 has made things worse for expectant mothers.
Pregnant women who contract the virus are at higher risk for health problems. Pregnant women have trouble getting personal care because to personnel shortages and COVID-19 regulations. Common depression during delivery has been made worse by the stress of the epidemic.
According to Tabb Dina, there has likely been a rise in mortality associated with pregnancy. Many pregnant women who experience depression and anxiety struggle to find the help they require.
The most misunderstood component of pregnancy, according to her, is mental health.
The highest spike in death was brought on by subtype COVID 19, according to Carolyn Yocom, the government's accountability director, who said that between July and December of last year, millions of individuals were infected.
Data demonstrate that the distribution of the delta variant was accompanied by a sharp rise in fatalities, Yocom stated.
Given that African-American women typically experience worse pregnancies than their counterparts, maternal mortality is particularly prevalent among this group.
While the death rate for white women went from 17.9 in 2018 to 26.1 in 2019, the death rate for black women jumped from 44 per 100,000 births in 2019 to 68.9 per 100,000 births in 2018.
The death rate among Hispanics decreased, although it climbed during the pandemic, going from 12.6 per 100,000 in 2019 to 27.5 per 100,000 in 2018.
Because they have less access to healthcare and are more likely to work in high-risk jobs, Blacks and Hispanics are also more likely to die from COVID-19.
Insufficient obstetric care was provided to black, low-income, and rural women even before COVID-19 emerged, raising their risk of pregnancy problems, according to another GAO investigation.
According to the research, hospitals were cutting back on maternity care in low-income, rural, and mostly black populations. The survey found that in 2018, less than half of counties had any hospitals offering obstetric treatment.
According to the data, the elimination of maternity services in rural hospitals is linked to an increase in out-of-hospital births and preterm births, which can have detrimental effects on both mothers and babies.
According to a government assessment made public on Wednesday, the COVID-19 outbreak significantly increased the number of women who passed away in the United States last year while pregnant or giving birth.
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