London, England, United Kingdom (AHN) –
A study of maternal mortality in 181 countries showed that the number women in Britain who died during pregnancy or childbirth remained the same the past two decades. In contrast, pregnant women in some poorer and wealthier nations that U.K. had improved rates of survival for the same time frame, while pregnant or giving birth.
The study compared death rates for women during their pregnancy or childbirth from 1980 to 2008. Globally, deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth went down to 343,000 annually in 2008, from 500,000 in 1980. The rate of decline was 1.4 percent yearly.
The maternal death rate for British women remained at 8.2 per 100,000 live birth, placing U.K. on the 23rd spot only. Poorer European nations such as Hungary, Poland and Albania had better rates of 7.1, 7.4 and 8.1 per 100,000 live births. On top of the list is Italy with just 3.9 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live birth.
Among the reasons why maternal death rates among British women did not change were a growing number of late pregnancies and obesity – which increase pregnancy complications.
The U.S. was even lower than the U.K. at 39th place, with a maternal death rate of 16.7 for every 100,000 live birth.
Dr. Christopher Murray, one of the authors of the study, said he was encouraged and surprised by the result of the study. Murray said that while the maternal death rate is still quite high, the numbers indicate improvement better than expectations.
The study was published in the Lancet Journal of Medicine.
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