Amnesty report condemns US death rates of women in childbirth

[baldguy]

The death rate of women giving birth in the US is worse than in 40 other countries, including nearly all the industrialised countries, Amnesty International said today in a report that describes the country's approach to maternity care as "disgraceful and scandalous".

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the likelihood of a woman dying in childbirth in the US is five times greater than in Greece.

...

"This country's extraordinary record of medical advancement makes its haphazard approach to maternal care all the more scandalous and disgraceful," said US Amnesty executive director Larry Cox. "Good maternal care should not be considered a luxury available only to those who can access the best hospitals and the best doctors. Women should not die in the richest country on earth from preventable complications and emergencies.

"Mothers die not because the United States can't provide good care, but because it lacks the political will to make sure good care is available to all women."

The US ranks 41st in the WHO's league table of maternal mortality, with a risk of women dying in childbirth at one in 4,800. Top of the league is Ireland with one in 47,600, which has partly to do with the small population, followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina and then Italy and Greece. The UK ranks 26th with a risk of one in 8,200.

more
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/12/amnesty-us-maternal-mortality-rates

[upi402]

1. kick & rec for the DLC

and the official Republican Party too!

Yes, nickers in a twist.
:mad:

[RC]

2. Yeah, but..., but..., but..., We're the Greatest Country in the World.

Think of how much worse it would be if government ran our health care. :sarcasm: