A new report in Australian reveals that at least one woman dies every fortnight during childbirth, especially in remote Indigenous communities. Many of these deaths have been unreported and only reinforces the need for a complete review of maternal morbidity. As many Aboriginal communities are underfunded and underresourced, it comes as no surprise that with this new information, the marker of a 'healthy' Australian health care system falls apart when it comes to Indigenous women.
Not only are Indigenous women more unlikely to receive prenatal care in mainstream hospitals, they are also discriminated against and even have little to no access to appropriate medical care even at the best of times. There are simply not enough doctors and midwives in these communities.
Source: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23559257-1702,00.html
Showing posts with label death. Show all posts
Showing posts with label death. Show all posts
Pregnancy and obesity: moral panic?
"Obesity is one of the "greatest threats" to women of childbearing age in the UK, experts have warned. A new report showed that more than half of women who die in pregnancy or shortly after birth are overweight or obese.
These women are putting themselves and their babies at risk of complications that could lead to death, the study warned."
The Guardian reports (again) that obese women are in essence, selfish for 1) getting pregnant 2) even attempting to give birth. Whilst there are plenty of medical studies reporting the risks inherent in obesity for both pregnant and non-pregnant women alike, I find it particularly troubling that no one bothers to report the immense health risks implicit in both the British and American maternity systems. Sure, being overweight can complicate your birth...but so can over-monitoring, unnecessary medical intervention, 'elective' caesarean and induction. Overweight women have unnecessarily been dealt the bad hand when it comes to prenatal care. It is hard enough for overweight pregnant women to find a doctor or midwife that will look after them without suggesting that they lose weight before the birth. Moreover, the idea that obese women are knowingly putting their unborn children in danger by even wanting to become mothers is offensive. In addition, what the reports fail to mention in their vague soundbites is that the 'obese' women who are at most risk are refugee and immigrant or poor women who have little access to quality maternity care. This little bit of information completely changes the timbre of the original report.
Of course women who have poor health care are going to be more at risk; obesity only compounds the risk. Obesity, on its own, does not necessarily produce a higher maternal mortality rates. If you look at the maternal morality rates among Anglo-Celtic and African-American women in the US, the disparity is astounding and the difference really comes down to prenatal health care (not the amount of weight gained). There are plenty of 'healthy' fat people in this world. Obesity is not necessarily a cause of maternal mortality; fatness is inconvenient for doctors and big women are and always will be a problem for hospitals that do not have the facilities to look after these 'special' cases.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-7124334,00.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/dec/04/health
These women are putting themselves and their babies at risk of complications that could lead to death, the study warned."
The Guardian reports (again) that obese women are in essence, selfish for 1) getting pregnant 2) even attempting to give birth. Whilst there are plenty of medical studies reporting the risks inherent in obesity for both pregnant and non-pregnant women alike, I find it particularly troubling that no one bothers to report the immense health risks implicit in both the British and American maternity systems. Sure, being overweight can complicate your birth...but so can over-monitoring, unnecessary medical intervention, 'elective' caesarean and induction. Overweight women have unnecessarily been dealt the bad hand when it comes to prenatal care. It is hard enough for overweight pregnant women to find a doctor or midwife that will look after them without suggesting that they lose weight before the birth. Moreover, the idea that obese women are knowingly putting their unborn children in danger by even wanting to become mothers is offensive. In addition, what the reports fail to mention in their vague soundbites is that the 'obese' women who are at most risk are refugee and immigrant or poor women who have little access to quality maternity care. This little bit of information completely changes the timbre of the original report.
Of course women who have poor health care are going to be more at risk; obesity only compounds the risk. Obesity, on its own, does not necessarily produce a higher maternal mortality rates. If you look at the maternal morality rates among Anglo-Celtic and African-American women in the US, the disparity is astounding and the difference really comes down to prenatal health care (not the amount of weight gained). There are plenty of 'healthy' fat people in this world. Obesity is not necessarily a cause of maternal mortality; fatness is inconvenient for doctors and big women are and always will be a problem for hospitals that do not have the facilities to look after these 'special' cases.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-7124334,00.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/dec/04/health
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