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View All ProductsHealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
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Learn MoreGlobal Maternal Mortality Rates are Grim—And the US is Not Excluded
Dying in childbirth is often assumed to be a thing of the past—we now live in an age where we have an understanding of nutrition and infection and access to clean water, modern medicine, and antibiotics. The reality is, death rates in childbirth did drop significantly by the end of the 20th century, and have continued to do so globally. According to UN inter-agency estimates, the global maternal mortality rate declined by 44 percent between 1990 and 2015 (UNICEF, 2018).
However, the statistics are still grim and the lives of the women facing the risk of dying a pregnancy-related death are reason enough to demand that we do better. Every day over 800 women die due to a complication in pregnancy or childbirth, and most of these deaths could be prevented. And while 88 percent of these deaths occur in sub-Sahara Africa and South Asia, maternal mortality is not only a problem for developing regions (UNICEF, 2018).
More than 700 American women die annually as a result of pregnancy or delivery complications (CDC Foundation, 2018). This is the highest maternal mortality rate of any high resource country, and along with Afghanistan and Sudan it is one of three countries in the world where the rate is rising instead of falling (Council on Patient Safety in Women’s Health Care, 2018). Further, the CDC Foundation reports that of these maternal deaths, a significant racial disparity has been revealed: “Non-Hispanic black women experience maternal deaths at a rate three to four times that of non-Hispanic white women” (2018).
The following graph exposes this devastating reality by comparing US rates to those of other industrialized countries (Martin & Montagne, 2017):
Causes of Pregnancy-Related Deaths
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that most complications develop during pregnancy and are preventable or treatable. With hemorrhage as the leading cause of maternal mortality globally (UNICEF, 2018), WHO cites five major complications that account for nearly 75 percent of all maternal deaths (WHO, 2018):
In a recent CDC Foundation study conducted by US maternal mortality review committees (MMRC), experts assessed pregnancy-related deaths from nine state-based MMRCs. The study reports, “Nearly 50% of all pregnancy-related deaths were caused by hemorrhage, cardiovascular and coronary conditions, cardiomyopathy, or infection. The leading underlying causes of death varied by race. Preeclampsia and eclampsia, and embolism were leading underlying causes of death among non-Hispanic black women” (2018). The leading causes of pregnancy-related deaths in the US are demonstrated in the following chart (CDC Foundation, 2018):
The Article also includes:
References
CDC Foundation. (2018). Report from nine maternal mortality review committees: Building U.S. capacity to review and prevent maternal deaths. Retrieved from https://www.cdcfoundation.org/sites/default/files/files/ReportFromNineMMRCs.pdf
Martin, N., Montagne, R. (2017). The last person you’d expect to die in childbirth. ProPublica. NPR. Retrieved from https://www.propublica.org/article/die-in-childbirth-maternal-death-rate-health-care-system
UNICEF. (2018). Maternal mortality fell by almost half between 1990 and 2015. Retrieved from https://data.unicef.org/topic/maternal-health/maternal-mortality/
World Health Organization (WHO). (2018). Maternal mortality fact sheet. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/maternal-mortality
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HealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All Learning & PerformanceHealthStream offers performance learning management solutions to help develop your healthcare staff into leaders and reduce turnover.
View All ProductsHealthStream works with healthcare organizations to create engaging and high-quality training videos for your staff and management.
View All ProductsImprove care quality and save money by making informed decisions about your healthcare facility and staff with HealthStream's reporting analytics solution.
View All ProductsHealthStream's proven methods for the improvement and overall engagement of your healthcare staff foster a positive workplace and increase retention rates.
View All ProductsThe leadership development program from HealthStream helps mold your high-potential healthcare employees into proven leaders.
View All ProductsWhen you enact HealthStream's quality compliance solutions, you can do so with the confidence your healthcare organization will meet all standards of care.
View All Quality & ComplianceFulfill compliance requirements with a variety of programs and courseware designed to address critical regulatory requirements as well as educate staff to recognize and mitigate risks.
View All ProductsBy increasing your healthcare staff's focus on quality and safety with HealthStream, they can help to reduce medical errors and readmission rates.
View All ProductsLearn about what HealthStream's healthcare policy management software and how it can help aid your organization efforts.
View All ProductsHealthStream's education helps address diversity, equity, and inclusion within your organization, as well as promoting health equity in the communities you serve.
View All ProductsHealthStream offers professional training and education on how to best optimize your reimbursement process within your healthcare organization.
View All ReimbursementTeach your healthcare staff about the revenue cycle and claim management through targeted training and video tools from HealthStream.
View All ProductsLearn about our advanced resuscitation training solutions. Our solutions are designed to help improve patient outcomes.
View All ResuscitationIn all areas of resuscitation, from neonatal to elderly care, clinical deterioration is a risk that can be avoided with the help of HealthStream's training programs.
View All ProductsHealthStream's EMS Program offers a comprehensive, CAPCE accredited EMS course library that meets National Registry annual recertification.
View All ProductsNurture the skills of your nurses and medical staff to help mold them into effective leaders with development training from HealthStream.
View All ProductsExpand the decision-making skills and effectiveness of your healthcare workforce with HealthStream's clinical development programs and services.
View All Clinical DevelopmentMake sure your clinicians have the support they need to provide competent care with clinical competency training and development from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All ProductsThe suite of healthcare onboarding solutions available from HealthStream aids in nurse retention and improved patient outcomes.
View All ProductsGive your healthcare staff the decision support and skills training they need with the online products available from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream leverages medical professional development in healthcare by providing staff training programs
View All ProductsLearn more about HealthStream's Provider Credentialing, privileging, & enrollment solutions.
View All CredentialingExperience standardized and centralized healthcare credentialing, privileging, and enrollment that is smarter and faster than ever before.
View All ProductsAutomated, web-based provider credentialing and enrollment software for growing medical groups.
View All ProductsNCQA-certified CVO verification services for initial and re-credentialing files in an overflow or full-service capacity for healthcare organizations.
View All ProductsSearch, review, and add providers into the Epic provider master file with our Epic app integration, Provider Validate.
View All ProductsMake sure your healthcare staff can schedule out appointments and work schedules with ease using HealthStream's line of software solutions.
View All SchedulingHealthcare scheduling software designed to optimize staffing requirements & elevate patient care
View All ProductsPrecisely align staffing and needed resources to enable efficient patient flow and high-quality, cost-effective patient care.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s free nurse schedule app, NurseGrid™, is built to help you care for your staff and engage with their specific needs.
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