Recent media coverage about the alarming rate of maternal mortality in the US has women scared. If you're pregnant, how can you protect yourself from these errors and oversights?
Being your own
Wonder Woman is not hard when you have the lasso of truth, the bracelets of submission, and the gauntlet of Atlas! After all, you're growing a human being -- you already have super powers!
First, let's frame the
risk of dying in childbirth properly. While the US is 47th in the world in terms of the rate of women dying from complications of pregnancy and childbirth,
in 2014 the actual number of deaths was 949 -- out of almost four million births. For those 949 women and their families, this is NOT acceptable, and we will not rest until that number is zero. But it also means the chance of this happening to you is very, very low. However, underlying these cases of mortality are 50 to 500 times more cases of (often preventable) adverse outcomes (e.g., ICU admission or extreme blood loss). Those are also not OK.
But analyzing both kinds of cases has already begun to teach us lessons about how we should be managing preeclampsia better. Most of what healthcare providers, patients, and the healthcare system should do boils down to just five things.
We launched The Preeclampsia Registry in 2013 and more than 3,400 participants are already enrolled. Please encourage your female friends and family members to participate so that research can continue to make new discoveries. Remember, it's not necessary that they experienced preeclampsia, HELLP syndrome, or any other hypertensive disorder during their pregnancy to participate. Direct them to
preeclampsiaregistry.org.
Special thanks to our National Sponsors listed here! We couldn't sponsor our Promise Walk for Preeclampsia events across the country without you! Our deepest appreciation also goes to our numerous local sponsors in each community -- thank you, thank you, thank you! And remember, you can still donate through August 31 here.
We appreciate our G.E.M.s!
You're invited to join a special program for dedicated donors called G.E.M. Short for
Giving
Every
Month, this program makes giving to the Preeclampsia Foundation as convenient as possible for you, and offers several
benefits.
Most importantly, turning your tax-deductible gift into monthly donations will make our shared mission of saving the lives of mothers and babies go even further.
As a G.E.M., you'll be with us every step of the way towards a world where preeclampsia and related hypertensive disorders of pregnancy no longer threaten the lives of mothers and infants. We offer different giving levels for budgets of all sizes so be a real G.E.M. and join this special program today!
P.S.
Thanks for keeping in touch with the Preeclampsia Foundation!
Our patient education and research funding could not happen without you. If you like this content and want to get more out to families like yours, please make a gift at
preeclampsia.org/donate.