Report finds America is least safe place to give birth in developed world

A new report says the United States is the least safe place for women to give birth among wealthy countries.

The U.S. maternal mortality rate (the percentage of women who die during pregnancy or shortly or within a few weeks of giving birth) was 22 per 100,000 live births in 2022.

This was the highest rate among 14 high-income countries across Europe, Asia, South America and Oceania studied in the report.

This means that an American woman is nine times more likely to die during or shortly after pregnancy than a Swedish woman, and four times more likely than a British woman.

The report also found that the United States has the second-lowest number of midwives and obstetricians per live birth among high-income countries, which may contribute to the country’s high maternal mortality rate.

Estimates suggest that up to a third of the positions are currently vacant.

The researchers note that the United States is the only country in the world that doesn’t mandate any form of paid maternity leave for pregnant women, which may explain the high suicide rate among new mothers in the United States.

The United States is the only country without a universal health care system. An estimated 8 million women, or 12 percent of women of reproductive age, are uninsured.

High medical costs may also have played a role in some of the deaths, the researchers said.

The report analyzed maternal mortality, defined as the death of a woman during pregnancy, childbirth, or up to 42 days after giving birth. All deaths were related to pregnancy in some way.

Overall, the United States had the worst rate, followed by Chile (14.3 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births) and New Zealand.

Meanwhile, no maternal deaths were recorded in Norway during 2022.

In second place was Switzerland with 1.2 maternal deaths per 100,000 people, followed by Sweden with 2.6.

Australia ranked sixth with a rate of 3.5 per 100,000 people, one-sixth the rate in the United States, while the UK ranked eighth.

The most common causes of death were severe bleeding, high blood pressure or infection, and cardiomyopathy, or heart disease.

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Separate data shows the United States has the second-lowest number of midwives and obstetricians per live birth among high-income countries, further straining the health-care system.

Chile has the highest supply of obstetricians and midwives, with 92 staff per 1,000 births.

The United States has just 16 obstetricians and midwives for every 1,000 live births, according to a report by the Commonwealth Fund, a New York City-based think tank that compares U.S. maternal mortality rates with those of similar countries.

Countries included in the report are Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US.

The researchers compared countries using maternal mortality ratio (MMR) data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Among the mothers who died after giving birth in the US was Christine Fields, 30, from Long Island City.

She was admitted to Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn in November 2023 to give birth to her third child, but died a few hours later from hemorrhage.

Her family is now suing the hospital for $41 million in damages, accusing them of negligent and careless treatment of her. They claim that her mother’s blood vessels were ruptured, causing internal bleeding.

In another case, Jasmine Patton, 34, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, died just two days after giving birth to her first child.

The cause of death for the mother, who had struggled to conceive for years before undergoing IVF treatment, was announced as liver failure.

Her family said her death was “unexpected” and that doctors had many questions about the cause of death.