Maternal death rates shot up in the United States in the last 10 years, a report by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington reveals.
The report also shows that America was one of the eight countries whose maternal death rates went up between 2003 and 2013. The other countries were Afghanistan, Greece and Central American and African nations.
Researchers say that the U.S. maternal mortality rates in 2003 were 17.6 per 100,000 live births. The numbers soared in 2013 to 18.5 per 100,000 live births. High death rates were found in the age group of 20 to 24, the researchers noted. From 1990 to 2013, the frequency of women dying due to childbirth or pregnancy in this age group increased from 7.2 to 14 for every 100,000 live births.
The U.S. ranked 60th in the list of 180 countries surveyed for maternal death rates. In 1990, the country ranked 22.
"For American women, high-risk pregnancies and the number of women with inadequate access to preventive and maternal health care are just two potential causes of this trend," study author Dr. Nicholas Kassebaum, said in a press release. "The good news is that most maternal deaths are preventable, and we can do better."
Although the increase was by a small percentage, researchers say that more programs and interventions should be introduced to reduce the maternal mortality rates in the country. America fell back in tackling maternal death rates compared to other developed countries. In Canada and the United Kingdom, the death rates were 8.2 and 6.1 per 100,000 live births respectively in 2013.
The study, 'Global, regional, and national levels and causes of maternal mortality during 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013,' was published in 'The Lancet.'
