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The headlines are screaming it, your patients are asking about it, and your national organization is warning you about it: America has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world, and it is continuing to escalate. In 2018, USA Today released an article that dropped like a bomb: American mothers are dying.…

Part 2 - Dear ACOG, Moms Have Been Speaking Up. You Just Don’t Believe Us.   In part 1 of this series, I wrote about how moms have been speaking up to their doctors — oftentimes to save their lives — and being ignored. As a result, many moms are dying of preventable complications, which…

Dear ACOG, Moms Have Been Speaking Up. You Just Don’t Believe Us.   When I was a week postpartum suffering from violent, full body-shaking chills and spiking fevers, I wandered into the OB triage/ED at my local hospital. I knew something wasn’t right, but didn’t have specific symptoms other than the chills and fever. The…

Some c-sections save babies’ lives. Some c-sections save mothers’ sanity. Then there are c-sections, like mine, that did neither. This letter is ode to those. I know I’m not the only one. In 1970, the national c-section rate was 5.5%. Now, it’s over 32%. Yet with all these surgeries meant to save lives, maternal mortality…

New ACOG Recommendations You Should Bring with You to Your Next Prenatal Visit   Despite spending far more on maternity care, the United States has produced some of the worst maternal health outcomes among all other developed countries. Currently, one in every three women has major abdominal surgery during birth and more than 40% of…

The consumer voice is often unheard when it comes to large systems. The maternity care system and its history of listening to women is no exception. ImprovingBirth recently shared a snapshot that a local Atlanta-based midwife posted of a "patient information and birth preferences plan" form, which had been given to a patient from her…