my guess is that in 20-30 years they will realize that part of this has to do with lower vit d in the winter months and the fact most of us have to get food that has been shipped form far away. meaning it wasnt ripe or even close to ripe when picked and has lower nutritional value, not only for that reason but also the longer it sits in a box truck warehouse or store the less nutrition it has. or we eat packaged stuff. or lots of Christmas goodies. again low in nutritional value.

this stuff isnt a mystery dr's and researchers are just making things seem more complicated than they really are.

Hi Rae, just to specify....the tittle of the article got truncated:

It reads: Maternal Mortality Rate in the US Highest in DECADES, not December.

This is not to scare anybody, or anything. But the aricle is an interesting read, and it touches on the increased rate of c-s and other medical interventions during childbirth as reasons why the maternal death rate is going up., based on a study by the CDC:

"Reasons for Increase
A rise in the number of caesarean sections -- which now account for 29% of all births -- could be a factor in the increased maternal mortality rate, some experts said. According to a review of maternal deaths in New York, excessive bleeding is one of the primary causes of pregnancy-related death, and women who have undergone several previous c-sections are at particularly high risk of death.

Some studies have found that race and quality of care also factor into the maternal mortality rate. The maternal mortality rate among black women is at least three times higher than among white women. Black women also are more susceptible to hypertension and other complications, and they tend to receive inadequate prenatal care. Three studies have shown that at least 40% of maternal deaths could have been prevented with improved quality of care.

The rise in obesity also might be a factor, some experts said. According to researchers, overweight women tend to have diabetes or experience other complications that could affect pregnancy outcomes. Overweight women also might have excessive tissue or larger infants, which could make a vaginal birth more difficult and lead to more c-sections. More women also are giving birth in their late 30s and 40s, when risks of pregnancy complications are higher, according to the AP/Post (AP/Washington Post, 8/24).

In addition, the report says the increase in maternal deaths "largely reflects" more states' use of a separate item on the death certificate indicating pregnancy status of the woman. According to the report, the number of maternal deaths does not include all deaths of pregnant women, but only those deaths reported on the death certificate that were assigned to causes related to or aggravated by pregnancy or pregnancy management (NCHS report, 8/21). California, Idaho and Montana in 2003 changed death certificate questions, the AP/Post reports (AP/Washington Post, 8/24). "

Well...I am plus size and I have hypertension...so basically getting pregnant was my death wish?

No doubt there are other factors at play too, such as the fact that more and more women are pushing back maternity, having first babies after 30...and other moms just having htem when they are older, period.Biologically, the best time to have a baby is when you ar eyoung, like in the late teens or early 20's....I know it seems absurd, because how many of us are mentally eady to have a babby at that age?

Shaelovey, do not panic. THere are many others who have even more complications, some life-threatening, and go on to have healthy babies!

Maybe your hypertension is related to your weight? If so, you may talk to your md about the possibility of you trying to keep your weight down, exercising, etc. That can help you both with the weight, and the hypertension. But be sure to vet it with your md first. Now may be the perfect time for you to try to improve your lifestyle a bit, if possible, so baby will have a healthier momma.

The reason why I posted this was not to scare anyone, but so that we can all be aware of interventions that may occur during childbirth. As I have posted elsewhere, I beleive that any intervention, such as an epidural, an induction, etc., should be considered very carefully, because it IS a medial intervention, and it can have side-effects...Sometimes, as a result of these commmon interventions, an emergency c-section ensues...

Be informed, be aware. You have a choice in childbirth. Have a plan. Read up on it. Discuss your wishes with your doctor.

I am just wondering,
What was your reason for posting this?

Did you think that telling us pregnant Americans that the maternal mortality rate was on the rise was going to help us?

Do you realize that many of us are scared enough becose we have suffered miscarriages or are older women who have struggled with fertility or ________(fill in the blank with the many issues that we have in our lives as we go through pregnancy)????

DO YOU THINK BEFORE YOU POST?

I find you to be very insensitve by posting things like this.
I have read replies that you have given women and you seem to be a normal, caring person but there is a twisted side to you that posts things to put fear into women.

Do you know there are young women on here who do not have much support in their life and they take in this information and it causes fear to grow in them. Why do you not think about it before you post?????

*** ** ** *** ** ** ** ** ** ** ***
WOMEN WHO ARE READING THIS please know that you do not have to fear for your life as long as you are eating right and seeing your doctor regularly, avoiding drinking and smoking and drug use, and if you are in an abusive relationship get out. If you are short on money and worried about your nutrition look into the WIC program (type in Women, Infants, and Children in your search) it provides vouchers for milk, cheese, cereal, peanutbutter, ect for pregnant & nursing mothers.
Don't be afraid that if you are African American, over 30, or overweight you are going to die delivering your baby. trust your instincts and insist on quality health care.

Please Jenn,
What do you not understand? I am giving out info, so that moms-to-be can help take conrol over theri lives, over their pregnancies, and be empowered. Yes, sometimes it may SEEM a bit scary. But I think that most of the moms here are doing just great, looking for information, AND support.

FYI, I am pregnant, I have a high-risk pregnancy, and will almost be 40 when I deliver. What r u going to tell me now? That I am a bad person for having a high-risk pregnancy? For having a child this "late" in life? That I am irresponsible?

In no way am I judging anyone here, so why do you have this thing with judging me? Did I tell anybody here that she was a bad mom? That she is endangering her child? That she is going to die? Because that is what you are insinuating.

As you know, I am in Canada. The stats for Canada are not much better than in the U.S., just a bit.

However, I really feel that it is important for moms to be aware, to not just put their trust blindly into somebody else's hands. You see, whn I did just that, with my third child, he ALMOST DIED.

So, I encourage expecting moms to read up, be alert, be aware, and esp., listen to your mother's instincts. GOd gave you them for a reason. IF you feel tat something is not right, SPEAK UP. Do not be shy, afraid to "bother" the md, for example. My last md made me feel so small, that I was afraid about pissing him off. So I did not want to "bother him". That mistake almost cost us both our lives. I only hope that others avoid the same problems that we endured.

This is not about bashing the US system. I am not laughing at American health care at all. On the contrary, the U.S. has always been an innnovator in major research, medicine, and pharma.

However, I see, from the reactions that I get from some people, who seem to continue to have a false sense of security. And I say false because as you can now see for yourself, the stats do not seem to back it up. Indeed, everyone seems to think that childbirth is normal, natural, etc., but in reality, things can go very wrong. Not often, but as in my case, they did.

Is there anything you can do to prevent that from happening to you? Maybe read up on the matter, and make informed choices? Will you know what to tell the md if he wants to induce you at 39 weeks? 40 weeks? 41 weeks? 42 weeks? What if he wants you to have a c-s? Under what circumstances should you agree? Are any other alternatives available? WHAT will you do?


There are MANY things that I woudl have done differently with my last labour, now that I know better. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! The main message I have is be proactive; take action. DO not just be reactive, and sit back passively, while others dictate your fate! Because knowledge is POWER. Take control of your life, your baby, your body, your delivery.

And quite frankly, what is wrong with that?

And I said, quite clearly, that the intention is not to scare anybody. Initially, I only posted the link, without any of my comments, as strict information. So, sorry if I made any of you scared; that was not my intention!

I don't see a problem with Franny or anyone else posting informative articles like this. Why not? It pertains to pregnancy, does it not? Are we not supposed to question why things like this happen just because we are pregnant? If you can't handle it, don't read it.

Ladies on this site I do want to offer some words of encouragement. If you are actively seeking support on this site, I assume you are also seeking prenatal care. Women with adequate prenatal care in the US have 1/3 of the morbidity and mortality rates of those who do not. So, you have already decreased your risk factor.

I think an important reason for the rise in maternal mortality that the CDC failed to mention in their report is the increase in unhealthy mothers. As modern medicine has improved women with disorders that previously lead to death in childhood are now surviving to reproductive age. We have seen a huge increase in women with congenital heart defects, lung disorders and other preexisting major medical problems presenting to labor and delivery. These women are obviously at higher risk and subsequently increase mortality rates.

Though this article may be controversial on this board because some people are easily frightened and some have fears of dying in labor, it may also be pertinent information. With that said, I don't think it is a wise idea to feed some peoples' fears and even trigger greater anxiety, I believe we should place spoilers on posts that may trigger undesired reactions.
Some of us have conditions such as depression and bipolar disorder (myself included) and consider this board a safe place from triggers. I do not think it is wise to seek out negative information that can cause unwanted effects in people. This is a support group, and I feel comfortable coming here and listening to peoples' fears and trying to comfort them, I also feel comfortable talking about concerns I have.
Franny, this is not a personal attack on you, but this is not the first time I have noticed posts from you that cause problems on the board, such as formula not being fda approved... and things can offend people easily especially when some of us are already so hormonal.
We have the internet at our finger tips and we can all look up these things if we desire the information, this group needs to try to keep a positive environment for everyone, because even logging on the board and seeing the heading of this thread, it makes me concerned for people who are terrified of the worst happening when they deliver their little one.
And by some of the other posts, some people are offended and worried. And some people might not be able to just ignore it. I just don't think a support group is the place for this information. We should be trying to calm everyone's fears and be supportive of everyone else, and not scare them any more than they already are.
If I offend you or anyone, I'm sorry... but I couldn't just let this one slide, because I want this to be a comfortable, safe place for people and I think this post has gone too far. I personally can handle this information, but I know there are some on this group that can't and need to be uplifted.

After all, we all know that stress can have a negative affect on our little ones.

Thank you,

Debbie

I also want to address the comment about epidurals. I think that it is very misleading to mention epidurals in relation to increases in maternal mortality because this is not true. It is also not true to say that epidurals increase C-section rate. People who say this love to cite one medical research article while disregarding the vast majority of medical research that prove epidurals do not increase c-section rates.

A large meta scale analysis of all the randomized controlled trials that addressed this question published through 2001 found no difference in the epidural group vs the non epidural group. (Leighton, BL. "Epidural Analgesia: Effects on Labor Progress and Neonatal Outcome." Seminars in Perinatology 2002,26:122-135.)

Literature search of all articles related to this topic printed from 1980-2002 revealed 13 well conducted trials. Of these 12 found no difference in the c-section rates between the two groups and only one found that C-section rates were higher in the epidural group. (Segal,S. "Does Labor Epidural Analgesia Affect Labor Outcome" Evidence Based Practice of Anesthesiology 2004. Saunders,Philadelphia, PA pp395-400.)

Research continues to support that epidurals do not increase rates of c-section. Therefore, I think it is misleading to insinuate that getting an epidural is going to significantly increase your risk of having an emergency c-section.

Franny, I think debbie's reply says it best. "We should be trying to calm everyone's fears and be supportive of everyone else, and not scare them any more than they already are."
I hope you take those words to heart
As for your reply to me, I am aware you are pregnant.... congratulations. I do not know why you would feel that I would tell you you are irresposnible for being pregnant, in fact I did not make any comment regarding any womans choice to be pregnant. I think it is great that medical advances have made childbirth possible for older women & women with mental health issues & women with infertility issues & overweight women & women with diabetes. Every woman desrves to have the choice to become a mother.
My questions were directed at your reasons for posting information that may bring fear to women who need support. I never insinuated that you were judging others but rather that you were NOT bringing supportive information to the board. It is pretty simple, we should not try to scare people with the facts we gather.

In your reply to me you wrote
"So, I encourage expecting moms to read up, be alert, be aware, and esp., listen to your mother's instincts. GOd gave you them for a reason. IF you feel that something is not right, SPEAK UP. Do not be shy, afraid to "bother" the md, for example. My last md made me feel so small, that I was afraid about pissing him off. So I did not want to "bother him". That mistake almost cost us both our lives. I only hope that others avoid the same problems that we endured."
That is helpful to expecting moms, thanks for writing that.

I agree with KaraF about the subject of an epidural.
That is one of the things i was really scared of during labor because I had read something on the internet that scared the crap out of me. But the story i read was on yahoo answer's so i'm pretty sure it was one of those women trying to push women to have natural childbirth.

I talked it over with my doctor and he assured me that the pro's out weigh the cons with an epidural and it doesn't increase the chances of a c-section at all. It just all depends on your body.

I think I have a solution. Since Franny insists on posting these studies that scare the majority of the women. And despite numerous pleas not to she continues I think she should create her OWN discussion group. She can invite who ever she wants to her group and members can choose whether or not to join. We will all know it is there and if we choose to read her fear inspiring posts. Though we do have a choice on this board many of us feel compelled to read them. It is onvious she has some need to post all of these. That would be a safe enviroment to do so.

We all have freedom of speech and to express ourselves. However, discretion and consideration of others should always be used particuarly when posting on a support group. I agree with Debbie that we should be supporting others and not producing more fear.

Franny I know that you have good intentions, but your posts are very biased and often overexaggerate risks associated with medical procedures while ignoring the risks associated with methods you support. This is not an effective means of empowering women to make informed decisions. Instead, it feels more like playing on their fears and emotions to make them side with you. I know that from your perspective people who don't like your posts should just not read them, but I think it is very unlikely that a pregnant lady sees a headline like Increasing maternal mortality rates and doesn't read it. Ok each user could then click ignore you but then others would still be reading what you are writing and there would not be people balancing out your perspective. I think klimawife may have a great idea. Perhaps you should start your own group and invite those on the pregnancy support group to join if they are interested in hearing more of your perspective. But, this post could go back to just being supportive of each other rather then a debate forum. Those interested in reading the debates could go to your group. I just think that as you look through your posts they do tend to create emotions that aren't in the spirit of a support group. So, maybe there is a better way or better forum for presenting your viewpoints that doesn't need to create all this tension.

WELL SAID KILMAWIFE AND KARAF!!!!
Franny I hope you will take what we are all saying into consideration. Continue to provide your insight and advice to whomever you feel- like I said, I have read your replies to others and they seem to be caring and helpful, but post these fear invoking posts on your own discussion boards. You will be getting your information out there, which is what you feel compelled to do and it will be on your terms.
I think we should all share information in a supportive and encouraging way.