Plus, a partnership with the Center for Public Integrity
Estimated reading time: 4m 2s
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For the month of October, the Reckon Report is focusing on caregiving across the human lifespan, in a series we're calling Cradle to Grave. One of the most common uses of the phrase in English-speaking countries is in reference to the United Kingdom’s public healthcare system, the NHS. From prenatal care to elder care and everything in between, we’ll be looking at America’s caregiving institutions and how they measure up (or don’t) with those of other nations. Prenatal care in the United States, like much of the rest of our healthcare system, is at best a patchwork of providers that favors white and high-income patients over those of other demographics. According to a report from the March of Dimes, over one-third of US counties are maternity care deserts as of last year. By their definition, this means that a county has “no hospitals providing obstetric care, no birth centers, no OB/GYN offices and no certified nurse midwives.” In practice, this means that almost half a million births in the US are happening in areas with low or no access to maternity care. The lack of available care for vulnerable populations leads to worse health outcomes for parents and their babies, including premature delivery, preeclampsia, and increased maternal mortality. The federal government is taking some steps to address this. The Department of Health and Human Services announced awards of more than $65 million in grants to health centers around the country to address the maternal health crisis in May of this year. But that may not be enough to turn the tides back as obstetricians flee states like Idaho, Texas and Tennessee or avoid practicing in them altogether in the face of abortion bans, which only exacerbates the crisis. |
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(Image credit: Charles Krupa/Associated Press) |
Maternal care deserts aren’t new, but the problem has been increasing in recent years. In Washington, DC, for example, the city only has one public hospital, United Medical Center. That hospital’s obstetrics ward was forced to close in 2017 after a series of dangerous mistakes endangered the lives of patients. In addition to being the District’s only public hospital, United Medical Center is the only hospital serving patients east of the Anacostia River, so the closure of the obstetrics facility left a large part of the city without nearby access to maternity care. To date, UMC’s obstetrics ward hasn’t reopened. If this could happen in the nation’s capital, imagine how dire the stakes are in rural Ohio or Mississippi or New Mexico. |
(Photo credit: Getty Images) |
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated America’s maternal health crisis. Maternal mortality rates have shot up in the last five years, and they didn’t have to. According to the CDC, 84% of American maternal deaths are preventable. But that number stands to get worse if the United States doesn’t invest in prenatal healthcare and other governmental interventions that stand to improve the quality of life for pregnant patients and the children they hope to bring safely into this world. |
Maternity/prenatal care is a building block for human life. For expectant parents, it’s part of a larger picture of their healthcare overall and is a chance for care providers to have conversations about how different lifestyle choices and environmental factors play a role in someone’s life. And for babies, it’s their first encounter with a doctor before they’re even out in the world. High quality prenatal care is a necessity for future generations to lead high quality lives. |
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This article was published in partnership with the Center for Public Integrity. |
Nate Bradford, Jr. and other Black farmers and ranchers are fighting to preserve a type of rural, Black agricultural life. But the past keeps blocking their future. In the third season of The Heist, we follow Bradford’s fight to survive against the long, documented history of government discrimination against Black farmers. |
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That's all I've got for this week!
Thanks for reckoning with me, Aria |
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