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Pregnancy-Related Deaths: Data from Maternal Mortality Review Committees

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Re: Pregnancy-Related Deaths: Data from Maternal Mortality Review Committees

#131

The rate of maternal deaths in the US far outpaces that for other industrial countries. [0] Likely related to a racial divide in healthcare infrastructure? [0] https://tcf.org/content/commentary/worsening-u-s-maternal-he...

It’s hard to separate that from the US’s nasty combo of outlier poverty + healthcare that’s non-free at the point of service. Doesn’t bode well for populations disproportionately in and near poverty… But (to be fair and balanced) one pro of the US’s system that other countries don’t have is that black and white people (and all other races) are allowed to use their HSAs as a tax shelter for their investments.

How is race relevant to HSA accounts?

Re: Pregnancy-Related Deaths: Data from Maternal Mortality Review Committees

#132
post #72

I remember years ago when I was studying various aspects of the health insurance market, there was one thing that really, truly alarmed me: the amount of Medicaid money spent on pregnancy-related care. It was shocking to me. Pregnant women who don't see their doctors regularly end up costing the system an absolute fortune. It is a sad plague among many of the poor who have lots of problems themselves, a big one being…

Solution: turn bad decision-makers into good decision-makers. How? Airdrop them into Canada, apparently.

Re: Pregnancy-Related Deaths: Data from Maternal Mortality Review Committees

#133

Reminder when comparing with other nations that as this study states: "Pregnancy-related deaths occurred during pregnancy, delivery, and up to a year postpartum. " The measure can be very different elsewhere. The WHO defines a maternal death as "the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy , irrespective of the duration and the site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or a…

Also a reminder that at least a few years ago, the US had the highest maternal mortality rate in the entire OECD against a standardized metric. Like, by a country mile. [1] > Among 11 developed countries, the United States has the highest maternal mortality rate, a relative undersupply of maternity care providers, and is the only country not to guarantee access to provider home visits or paid parental leave in the po…

> by a country mile.

For reference (so someone doesn't have to click through): 17.4 per 100,000 vs the two closest: France at 8.7 and Canada at 8.6

Does that account for the far higher proportion of people living in rural areas in the US? What about obesity, ethnicity, etc?

Re: Pregnancy-Related Deaths: Data from Maternal Mortality Review Committees

#134

The rate of maternal deaths in the US far outpaces that for other industrial countries. [0] Likely related to a racial divide in healthcare infrastructure? [0] https://tcf.org/content/commentary/worsening-u-s-maternal-he...

It’s hard to separate that from the US’s nasty combo of outlier poverty + healthcare that’s non-free at the point of service. Doesn’t bode well for populations disproportionately in and near poverty… But (to be fair and balanced) one pro of the US’s system that other countries don’t have is that black and white people (and all other races) are allowed to use their HSAs as a tax shelter for their investments.

Eh, I think one could say HSAs are also a symptom of these disproportionate effects.

What populations are getting the jobs that provide an HSA? What population has money left over to put into an HSA?

etc., etc.

Re: Pregnancy-Related Deaths: Data from Maternal Mortality Review Committees

#135
post #53

I'd like to know more detail about the methodology and definition of "preventable." My sister's death in 2017 while 8 months pregnant is (apparently) included in this data, but I wonder how they would rate it. She experienced sudden cardiac death, but had no prior indication anything was wrong with her heart, and no symptoms that would otherwise cause someone to examine her heart. Had anyone examined it, they might h…

Sorry for your loss.

"Sudden cardiac death" is more of a description than a diagnosis, so it's hard to say. You may be being intentionally vague for her privacy, which makes sense.

Common causes vary widely, from cardiac dysrhythmia (perhaps due to pregnancy-related cardiomyopathy or an electrolyte imbalance?) or a pulmonary embolism... I'd say the level of "preventability" depends on the etiology.

Re: Pregnancy-Related Deaths: Data from Maternal Mortality Review Committees

#136

Reminder when comparing with other nations that as this study states: "Pregnancy-related deaths occurred during pregnancy, delivery, and up to a year postpartum. " The measure can be very different elsewhere. The WHO defines a maternal death as "the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy , irrespective of the duration and the site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or a…

> The measure can be very different elsewhere.

This kind of thing also applies to the oft-repeated "infant mortality" metric. Where other countries don't count premature births or count birth within a certain period as stillbirths instead of infant mortality.

Re: Pregnancy-Related Deaths: Data from Maternal Mortality Review Committees

#137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It seems like we should track cause of death so we can have richer and more actionable information. I hope I'm remembering this right, and please correct me if my memory or interpretation of this isn't correct. When Covid first emerged and people were diving deeply into all kinds of mortality statistics, one story I saw that was kind of shocking is that there's been no genuine system for counting flu deaths in a no…

And then suddenly the entire globe started to test everybody with a pulse for Covid, symptomatic or not. Society has never had that kind of real-time data for tracking a virus. We have zero reference to compare Covid to because nothing has ever been tested quite the same. Thus there is no real way to compare the flu to Covid or even previous pandemics like Zika, SARS, etc…

> And then suddenly the entire globe started to test everybody with a pulse for Covid,

This is one of the big reasons that I total distrust and reject the provided mortality statistics with Covid. Statistical comparisons have to be made in similar ways or they're worthless.

Re: Pregnancy-Related Deaths: Data from Maternal Mortality Review Committees

#138
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At a federal level no, but some states do require many weeks at minimum. I also think 9months is beyond excessive for maternity/paternity leave (father of kids here).

My first born, now about 5, was born while I was aggressively chasing promotions in a tech company. During her first year I mostly saw her to put her to bed at night and on the weekends. This time around I’m a full time indie hacker and I see my son for hours every day. He’s six months old now. I’m insanely fortunate to have a profitable and growing business, but I’ve come to believe that everybody should be able to…

The way you describe aggressively chasing promotions sounds different than losing your house. There is a middle ground in there. I also agree that people should be able to spend months with their children though. I'm glad California is supportive of that.

Re: Pregnancy-Related Deaths: Data from Maternal Mortality Review Committees

#139

This article is disturbing on many levels. The sound bite that the US has a problem with maternity healthcare is ingrained, but this makes me take a second look. First is that we report maternal mortality even when not directly associated with birth -- "Among pregnancy-related deaths with information on timing, 53% occurred 7–365 days postpartum." Is that standard for reporting countries? Is our problem with maternit…

How is any of this a surprise, healthcare is screwed in the USA unless one can afford it. The worst thing about America besides the guns is the inhumane lack of free, quality healthcare.

Re: Pregnancy-Related Deaths: Data from Maternal Mortality Review Committees

#140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s hard to separate that from the US’s nasty combo of outlier poverty + healthcare that’s non-free at the point of service. Doesn’t bode well for populations disproportionately in and near poverty… But (to be fair and balanced) one pro of the US’s system that other countries don’t have is that black and white people (and all other races) are allowed to use their HSAs as a tax shelter for their investments.

Eh, I think one could say HSAs are also a symptom of these disproportionate effects. What populations are getting the jobs that provide an HSA? What population has money left over to put into an HSA? etc., etc.

Ya I was just making a little joke about the US's right-wing solutions for distributing healthcare, and "equality of opportunity" arguments people make.

IRL some of the poorest people I know have been screwed over by attempting to use similar programs.

Myself, I really don't want to have to fucking rebalance my healthcare portfolio. As opposed to, y'know, just walking in the building, getting my healthcare, walking out, and squaring up at tax time on a progressive curve.

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