Congress Wants Answers To Know Why Mothers Are Dying

The US Congress is stepping in to get answers about why the rate of women dying in childbirth is rising in the United States.

They want to know, just like the rest of us, why a country as advanced as ours is having more problems than many other developed countries in the world.

Consider this – the United States has the worst rate of maternal deaths in the developed world.

Congress is acting. The House Committee on Ways and Means has called for hospitals across the country to answer a series of questions and provide investigators with copies of their childbirth safety protocols and data on mothers’ deaths and injuries.

“It’s clear that there are warning lights that are flashing, and we need to understand what’s causing this,” said Representative Peter Roskam of Illinois.

If the hospitals respond, we should end up with good data to work with. The committee has demanded answers from 15 of the country’s largest hospital systems, ones responsible for more than one in five births in the US.

What Happens?

According to the CDC, there are around 4 million births in the US each year. There are also more than 23,000 infant deaths each year.

It is not just the babies who are at risk. More than 50,000 mothers suffer from severe injuries during or after childbirth each year. While maternal death and injury rates have been decreasing in other developed nations, it has been rising in the US.

Much of this has to do with the fact that there is not uniformity between hospital protocols dealing with potentially fatal complications.

Doctor and nurses should be vigilant when it comes to childbirth complications, as they are dealing with two lives.

Here are some common problems that can happen to a baby during childbirth:

• Bone fractures (collarbone, skull, arms, legs)
• Meconium aspiration
• Fetal oxygen deprivation
• Brain bleeds
• Nerve damage

These injuries can lead to long-term complications for the child. If they are severe enough, they can lead to death.

For the mother, doctors need to be on the lookout for complicated deliveries that can leave the mother’s body distressed, excessive bleeding during and after the birth, uterine rupture, abnormal birth positions of the baby, and more.

It is up to healthcare professionals to provide a high quality of care during childbirth so that the United States can begin to change its infant and mother mortality rates during childbirth.

What You Can Do

We know that an injury or death during childbirth is devastating to families. We also know that you need answers. If someone else’s negligence has caused a birthing injury to the mother or baby, they should be hold accountable. At the Simpson Law Group, we want to work with you to investigate your claims and recover the compensation you deserve. When you need a San Diego birth injury attorney, you can contact us by clicking here or calling 619-236-9696 for a free consultation.