I read an interesting and sad article this evening about the high mortality rate among women in India during childbirth. A large number of women die from preventable causes, and the numbers aren’t even accurate, since many of the deaths are not even recorded. Due to a lack of accountability, corruption, and a lack of awareness, many women in India are not receiving the proper care they need, despite the fact that maternal health care is supposed to be free for poor women.
Currently our country is divided over health care reform. I understand: I know first hand the staggering costs of health care, childbirth in particular. A natural vaginal birth, for example, can easily exceed ten thousand dollars. Insurance policies seem to cover less and less. Families are crippled by medical bills due to poor coverage and excessively high deductibles.
Despite the problems in our health care system, however, our situation is nowhere near what these woman in India experience. About one in 7,300 woman die as a result of childbirth complications in developed countries. Is it estimated that one in about 70 women die as a result of childbirth complications in India. In India, some hospitals are regularly turning away patients who cannot pay. The hospital where I gave birth has a strict policy that they will never turn anyone away despite their ability or inability to pay.
Here in the US, we have developed an almost complacent attitude towards childbirth. Some of us schedule cesareans like an afternoon pedicure. No one ever responds to a positive pregnancy test with the anxiety and fear of possible death. We worry about stretch marks more than we worry about whether we will survive. But that is the reality for some women. It is because of our nation’s policies, our educational system, and the high quality of care and strict guidelines that all hospitals and health care providers must follow, that our maternal mortality rate has decreased to the point that it is no longer a source of anxiety for most women. Child birth always has been, and always will be dangerous, and we should never take our health care for granted.