The United States continues to be one of the "most dangerous developed nations" for childbirth, according to a new report released Thursday by March of Dimes, a nonprofit organization focused on improving the health of pregnant people and babies. The U.S. earned a D+ grade on its preterm birth...
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The United States continues to be one of the "most dangerous developed nations" for
childbirth, according to a
new report released Thursday by
March of Dimes, a nonprofit organization focused on improving the health of pregnant people and babies.
March of Dimes report released earlier this year found that more than 5.6 million women in the U.S. live in counties with limited or no access to maternity care services. Since 2018, there has been a 4% increase in maternity care deserts, defined by March of Dimes as "any county in the United States without a hospital or birth center offering obstetric care and without any obstetric providers."
The U.S. earned a D+ grade on its preterm birth rate for the second straight year in
March of Dimes' annual report looking at the
state of maternal and infant health
"This year's report shows the state of infant and maternal health in the United States remains at crisis-level, with grave disparities that continue to widen the health equity gap," Dr. Elizabeth Cherot, president and CEO of March of Dimes, said in a statement about Thursday's report. "We have long known that many of the factors impacting poor outcomes for moms and babies can and must be addressed if we are to reverse these trends."
She continued, "The fact is, we are not prioritizing the health of moms and babies in this country, and our systems, policies, and environments, as they stand today, continue to put families at great risk."
The South and Midwest regions of the U.S. continue to have the worst outcomes when it comes to infant and maternal health, according to the March of Dimes report.
Louisiana, Arkansas, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Ohio, Mississippi and Alabama are among the states with the highest infant mortality rate. Those states each had an infant mortality rate of at least 7 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to the
national average of 5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Infant mortality is
defined by the CDC as "the death of an infant before his or her first birthday."
States including Oklahoma, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi also had the worst maternal health outcomes, according to the March of Dimes report.
Among all states, birthing people living in Louisiana are the most vulnerable to "poor maternal health outcomes," according to the report, with 39 deaths per 100,000 live births.
The report found, again, that states in the South -- including Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana -- had the highest rates of preterm birth.
To improve the state of maternal and infant health care in the U.S., the March of Dimes, in its report, called for several policy changes, including extending Medicaid health care benefits to one year after the birth of a child, the expansion of mandatory paid parental leave, Medicaid coverage of doula care for birthing women and federally funded maternal mortality and fetal and infant mortality review committees in every state.