Today’s article from March 16, 2023 in The Washington Post, entitled U.S. maternal mortality climbs dramatically during pandemic, study finds, describes public health issues related to pregnancy and childbirth.
“The rate of Americans dying while giving birth — or in the weeks afterward — increased by more than one-third in 2021 compared with a year earlier, with the burden of death disproportionately borne by communities of color, according to a report released Thursday by U.S. health officials.” Health related to pregnancy and childbirth in a nation is “a top predictor of a nation’s health” because “maternal health is informed by an accumulation of life events that start long before pregnancy and that are centuries in the making. Experts and federal officials acknowledge that addressing maternal mortality means understanding the effects imposed on expectant mothers by racism, housing policy, policing, climate change, pollution — and the pandemic.” The article states “Researchers have found that the unrelenting stress caused by racism — and the cortisol it produces — wears the body down, aging it prematurely and is a factor in maternal mortality rates. “
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