It is an unfortunate state of affairs when the United States has one of the worst maternal health care systems. So much so that according to The Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy, the US ranks 55th among other countries of similar economic wealth. That is last and frankly, a maternal mortality crisis. This is because the mortality rate in the United States is 17.4 maternal deaths for every 1,000 live births and expected to rise.
To put that into perspective, places like Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy had 7.5, 7.6, 6.5, 3.2, and 2.5 maternal deaths per 1,000, according to Statista. And with the number of maternal health care deserts that exist in the United States, it is not surprising that the ranking is as low as it is. But some states fare worse than others where maternal health care is lacking.
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There has been a push over the past several years to improve maternal health care in states across the country. While there have been some improvements in several states, others are proving to still be struggling to bring maternal health care to rural, large metropolitan, and underrepresented populations. And until more women have access to health care that should be available to those who are pregnant, in labor, or in their postpartum stage, there likely is not going to be any change in the maternal health care deserts that currently exist in the US today.
Here are the states where maternal health care is lacking.
A maternal health care desert is an area where there is little to no maternity health care services, according to the March of Dimes. As such, be it because geographically there is no care available or women are not able to gain access to health care for one reason or another, populations of women are not receiving the maternal prenatal or postnatal care they require. And this is leading to the deaths of far too many women across the United States.
By not receiving maternal care in the prenatal stages of pregnancy, women are three to four more times more likely to suffer a pregnancy-related death, per the publication. This is because any complications with the pregnancy are not known. As such no intervention can be received.
Further still, those who do not have access to care during the fourth trimester also face mortality. Nearly 12 percent of maternal deaths occur during the postpartum period, according to th March of Dimes, because there is no follow-up care to catch any complications occurring. Something that is completely preventable, was there more access to health care for women.
Maternal health care deserts are areas that have a higher poverty rate and lower median income level than many places around the country, according to What To Expect. When there is not any money, there is not any access to specialty services in hospitals such as OBGYN care or birthing centers.
Most of the areas where maternal health care deserts exist are in rural and urban areas, according to the publication. These are also areas where childbirth complications are highest. Because of this, women are forced to travel 50 plus miles to find care. And when things like public transportation are relied on, it makes for a long day. Especially when pregnant.
While there are populations across the nation that have pockets of maternal health care deserts, there are some states where maternal health care is lacking overall.
According to Stacker, states where maternal health care is lacking include:
In order to determine which states were lacking in maternal health care, Stacker looked for counties that did not have hospitals with obstetric care, centers with OBGYNs, or certified midwives in the area. The states that had the most of these counties were considered to be essentially maternal health care deserts.
Some of these states, per the publication, have recently started to implement health care programs. Those programs include:
Therefore, while these states may be identified as having poor maternal health care, some are working to improve their statistics. Unfortunately, for some pregnant women, these programs will not come soon enough. And many will continue to face dire outcomes, all as a result of being pregnant.
When it comes to maternal health care deserts, there are communities that are suffering at a higher rate than others.
According to USA Today, the populations that are suffering most include:
These mothers live in communities where hospitals or minimally, their birthing centers are shutting down because they are expensive to maintain, per the publication. Because of this, women living in rural areas are "60 percent more likely to die of childbirth-related causes." And with money continuing to leave rural areas versus coming in, it is unlikely that these statistics will be changing anytime soon.
Source: The Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy, Statista, March of Dimes, What To Expect, USA Today
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