Danzhen You’s Post

#maternalmortality watchdog,  #MMBRRACE-UK, have released some early data providing key statistics for UK maternal deaths from 2019 to 2021. The statistics are tragic and there continues to be disparities in the maternal mortality rates for Black and Asian women. The maternal mortality rate for women living in the most deprived areas was more than double the death rate for mothers who lived in the least deprived (or most affluent) areas. https://lnkd.in/ekQ2xGUY

Did you know 19 million women die each year from non-communicable diseases? NCDs, such as hypertension and hyperglycemia, pose a significant health risk to women and children worldwide. Recently published research by Suzanne Simkovich, M.D., and collaborators suggests that using modern techniques like open-source data and human-centered research design, we can make considerable progress in preventing non-communicable diseases in women of reproductive age. #MaternalHealth #MedicalResearch #StudyDesign #NCDPrevention #Research

This is awful to see. While the authors rightly note we'll need to see more years of data to determine if this is a trend, I have a few thoughts. Infant mortality is a key indicator of population health. We know a range of factors contribute to infant mortality - economic development, social wellbeing, access to and quality of medical care, public health practices, and environmental health. Many of those factors have worsened for many communities the past few years. While the rise in infant mortality was greatest among American Indian/Alaska Native populations, this rise isn't confined to a single population. The only racial/ethnic group that did not see an increase in infant mortality (statistically significant or not) was the non-Hispanic Asian group (they saw a non-significant decline). This tells me that conditions are worse across the board - not just for a specific population. Lastly...this doesn't feel like a surprise. There are other poor trends in perinatal health: flu vaccine uptake among pregnant women is declining, rural hospitals and maternity wards are closing, increasing postpartum depression, access to abortion and contraception is under constant threat, and there have been recent increases in cesarean delivery and preterm birth. All of these factors contribute to infant health. One year of data on infant mortality may not indicate a crisis, yet taken in combination with everything else happening surrounding maternal and infant health, there's a lot to be concerned about. #infant #perinatal #mortality #publichealth

Extract-US maternal deaths have doubled since 1999 with most among Black mothers Maternal deaths across the US have more than doubled over the course of two decades, with the most deaths occurring among Black women, researchers said on Monday. The findings were laid out in a new study published on Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Jama). Researchers looked at maternal deaths between 1999 and 2019 – but not the pandemic spike – for every state and five racial and ethnic groups. Researchers found an estimated 1,210 maternal deaths in 2019, compared with 505 in 1999, according to a study published in Jama. The toll was not distributed equally, with some racial and ethnic groups faring worse than others. While Black mothers died at the nation’s highest rates, the greatest increases over time were seen among Native American and Alaska Native women, the researchers said. https://lnkd.in/ei74s9k5.