By Nathanphillips March 19, 2024 - 11:03pm

Introduction 

Women's health during pregnancy and the postpartum period is one of the gauging parameters through which the performance of the national health systems can be evaluated. Regretfully, in the USA, the rate of maternal mortality has been on the incremental rise with constant racial injustice. Pregnant women immigrants among all ethnic minorities have more certain challenges to have the right to necessary help. This article discusses the problems of the current U.S. maternal health care, focusing on the stages before and after childbirth, and will examine the proposals designed to improve the results, with a special focus on assisting immigrant pregnant women.

Maternal Mortality

The rise in the percentage of deaths during childbirth among women in the U.S. is a matter of concern. It is worrying to notice that the death rate from 7.2 per 100,000 live births in 1987 has risen to 17.2 per 100,000 births in 2015. There have been race differences with black women three times more likely to experience pregnancy-related deaths as compared to their white counterparts. Experts hold the view that nearly all of these deaths can be avoided as they emanate from the medical care system's shortcomings, the lack of social support, and a lack of coordination among healthcare providers.

Intervening During Pregnancy: Community-based Pregnancy Care

To overcome the issues resulting during and post-pregnancy, various approaches are undertaken.   An example is the Centering Pregnancy. This is a model that organizes group sessions that bring together pregnant women who are at the same stage of their pregnancy. These visits, assisted by healthcare providers, will inform mothers about parenting skills guides on postpartum problems and lead to acquiring community support. As a result, likely, the health status of the whole population, as well as the satisfaction of patients and providers and the level of disparity among different ethnicities would be improved. The Detroit-based Women-Inspired Neighborhood Network (WIN Network) goes one step ahead and instigates the use of community health workers (CHWs) who lead the formed groups. They do home visits and do more than just handle healthcare matters. They also link women up to stable housing, childcare, and vital resources such as baby formulas to supplement the nutritional value of the young ones.

Enhancing Support beyond Childbirth

Women are the ones who are often susceptible to postpartum deprivation that exists beyond the first 6 weeks checkup.  Therefore, new initiatives are being created to offer them continuous support beyond 6 weeks postpartum visit. Brigham and Women's Cardiometabolic Clinic in Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Navigating New Motherhood program illustrate the importance of establishing tight controls for the benefit of the mother and her baby not only in the postpartum period but also in subsequent years concerning predisposition to conditions like preeclampsia and its complications.

Lessons and Policy Implications

Although these implementations highlight example programs, a large fraction of issues with its application nationwide comes from the diversity of the Medicaid eligibility rules among states. To promote the healthiest pregnancy possible, they are suggestions for policy changes such as a change in payment structures, workforce expansion, and greater attention to quality of care aspects. The maternal mortality reviews and reworked quality indicators should be the key strategic ongoing objective towards understanding and improving the quality of maternal care.

Conclusion

All-inclusive approach, which comprises developing maternal health in the USA and, especially, for foreign pregnant women, is the necessary factor that helps to fight against the problem under consideration. Filling in the prevalent vacancies in obstetric and neonatal care, involving the communities, and using innovative models are the main ways toward obtaining better health results for the women between pregnancy and after delivery.