As Ina May lets us know in her article, the notion that childbirth in hospitals here in the “first world” United States is completely and utterly safe is anything but true.  Much is publicized when a mother or baby dies in a birth center or home birth.  But mother and baby deaths in hospitals are hushed.  And overall, the death of mothers during or soon after childbirth is not well recorded in the USA.

Ina May encourages us to look to countries like Great Britain and its neighbors, which publish a book called Why Mothers Die every three years – and a report with the same title is published yearly.  The book (available in public bookstores) and the reports give comprehensive information on maternal deaths that come from pregnancy and childbirth.

I have to wonder why the United States hides from its own statistics.  Why doesn’t the USA want to publish such a comprehensive report – something that will allow us to figure out just why so many mothers are dying in the United States.

I love birth and I love babies.  In running Natural Birth and Baby Care.com I have talked to a lot of families who have experienced loss.  I believe that to some extent you cannot separate birth and death.  There have always been mothers and babies who die.  It’s a painful reality and it hurts.  But life is a cycle and sometimes you cannot separate birth and death.  It is hard to make peace with.

And sometimes that peace cannot come.  In situations like we have in the United States, known for being one of the most “advanced” countries in the world, we still have many more mothers dying than other less advanced countries.  How can there be peace with the death of a mother when her death is not properly reported.  When the cause of her death is not properly investigated.  When a mother dies for a reason that could have been prevented.

Here in the US there is no proper review of maternal deaths.  We don’t know why these mothers have died or how to fix it.  To me that is an outrage.  Sometimes death happens.  Sometimes mothers will die and sometimes babies will die.  But it happens too often in the US and nobody is held accountable.

Starting from the very beginning of a pregnancy – even before pregnancy, women are fed misinformation on how to care for themselves during pregnancy.  It continues all through pregnancy.  Women are told lies and outdated information.  They are assured that of course they and their babies will be ok because they’re being monitored by ultrasound and their hospital has a level 3 NICU.  They’re discharged from the hospital after 24 hours and nobody bothers to check up on them.  These mothers, many of them first time mothers, have no good information during pregnancy, no advice after pregnancy, and no idea how to tell if something has gone very wrong – often until it’s too late.

For this, there is no excuse.  And for this, I am angry.  I hope that I can share with all the women who read my website how to care for yourself during pregnancy, things to know about nutrition and self care.  I also plan to post a comprehensive section of information on the postpartum time – so you can understand how to care for yourself with your newborn, and how to know when to get help.

All mothers should be informed.  Doctors and midwives should be held accountable for misinformation they continue to give to mothers, and for the information they withhold.  And for their actions during pregnancy, and during births.  And the United States should step up and take action that requires the death of a mother to be investigated and reported on – so that we can prevent tragedy from striking yet another family.

You can learn more by picking up the March-April 2008 issue of Mothering Magazine and by visiting The Safe Motherhood Quilt Project.