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posted by martyb on Friday August 03 2018, @09:58AM   Printer-friendly
from the think-of-the-children's...-mother dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

The US has a shameful record when it comes to caring for its moms. As Ars has reported before, the rate of women dying during pregnancy or childbirth is higher—much higher—than in any other developed country. By some estimates, mothers die in the US at a rate six-times that seen in Italy and three-times the rate in the UK, for instance. And of those that survive, tens of thousands suffer devastating injuries and near-death experiences each year.

Nevertheless, health researchers, hospital organizations, policy makers, and state task forces have been working to understand and reverse the horrific numbers—often doing so with limited resources and reliance on volunteers. While reports have offered glimpses of the problem, a new investigation by USA Today provides one of the sharpest pictures yet.

Many of the pregnant women and mothers who suffer and die in this country do so from easily preventable, common complications—and hospitals know exactly what safety features and practices are needed to spare mothers' lives and suffering, they just aren't using them. Women are left to bleed to death because doctors don't bother monitoring blood loss. Women suffer strokes and seizures and even die because doctors and nurses fail to treat their high blood pressure in time. The bottom line is stunning, simple negligence.

[...] While high blood pressure is one of the top causes of maternal deaths and complications, experts estimate that up to 60 percent of hypertensive deaths are preventable.

Hemorrhaging is another common but easily treatable complication. Women can bleed to death in as little as five minutes during childbirth. Yet experts estimate that 90 percent of maternal deaths from extreme blood loss are preventable. Such strategies to avoid harms are simple things, like weighing bloody pads to monitor blood loss (not relying on inaccurate visual estimates), having medications and supplies to curb blood loss readily available in a mobile cart, and responding promptly to signs of trouble.

Such simple steps have been recommended by experts for years. But in interviews with USA Today, many hospitals admitted they weren't following guidelines.

To put the data in real terms, USA Todaytold the story of 24-year-old Ali Lowry, who bled internally for hours after delivering by Cesarean section in an Ohio hospital in 2013. Her blood pressure registered at alarmingly low levels—52/26, 57/25, 56/24, 59/27—for more than three hours before staff responded. By the time she was airlifted to another hospital for life-saving surgery, her heart had stopped and she needed a hysterectomy. She eventually settled a lawsuit with her doctor and the hospital, which denied wrongdoing.

-- submitted from IRC


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  • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday August 03 2018, @03:23PM (7 children)

    I'd rather skip the socialist bits. I haven't put a whole lot of thought into the matter but I'm absolutely certain it can be done a hell of a lot more efficiently without government involvement and the always accompanying corruption lending a hand. Pretty much anything can.

    --
    My rights don't end where your fear begins.
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  • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Friday August 03 2018, @03:47PM (3 children)

    by RS3 (6367) on Friday August 03 2018, @03:47PM (#716765)

    As always, I completely agree. The optimist in me thinks somehow good people would run such a progressive system. Trouble is: we're running out of good people.

    Maybe that's it: how can we get the system set up and staffed by good people only? No time to think about it...

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 03 2018, @05:20PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 03 2018, @05:20PM (#716807)

      Damn boi, you just some shill account here to prop up The Might Buzzard's failing ideology? Wonder if he realizes what you're up to or if he thinks you're just a *swell* guy.

      • (Score: 3, Funny) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday August 04 2018, @01:41AM

        by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Saturday August 04 2018, @01:41AM (#717065) Homepage Journal

        I told him I'd spring for the hookers at the next SN staff meeting if he agreed with me for a month.

        --
        My rights don't end where your fear begins.
      • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Monday August 06 2018, @05:16AM

        by RS3 (6367) on Monday August 06 2018, @05:16AM (#717749)

        I like TMB's hooker answer better than mine, which is: I'm more open-minded than most people. If there's anything I can't stand it's idiots who are militantly sure of themselves, no matter what it is they believe in. TMB is brilliant and has shared his experiences and how he has been on both sides of most (all?) major issues. He learns. It's called wisdom. Of course, we all have our view from our path in life. I see and understand the strong arguments and positions people have on most major issues. I think any sane rational person would realize there are no simple easy answers to anything in society. And for sure all the overly strong opinions, bickering, fighting, rioting, etc., are not helping solve anything.

  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 03 2018, @06:07PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 03 2018, @06:07PM (#716831)

    The facts (e.g. statistics from other countries) do not agree with you.

    But why let that stop you? You are just here to stir of shit to get more engagement on the site, right?

  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 03 2018, @08:20PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 03 2018, @08:20PM (#716957)

    And yet all the existing better systems have strong government involvement in the form of single payer. In spite of your certainty, no one has hit on the better system without gov involvement, so it's high time you do put a whole lot of thought into the matter and show us the way. Save us TMB, you're our only hope!

    • (Score: 1, Offtopic) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday August 04 2018, @01:45AM

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Saturday August 04 2018, @01:45AM (#717067) Homepage Journal

      Why? My healthcare's free and costs nobody a dime worth of tax money, assuming I'm bothered enough to drive six hundred miles to use it. You have an arguably functional brain, use it. Assume every idea is shit until you find one that you cannot improve upon. Pro-tip: not having to take money from others without their consent is an improvement over having to.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.