Women in the UK are more than twice as likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth as those in Poland, Austria or Belarus, according to research.
Britain failed to rank in the top 20 places to be a mother for the third consecutive year, coming 24th globally. Experts said the poor rating was partially due to higher infant and mother mortality rates than in other parts of Europe. The UK was ranked 30th out of 179 countries on maternal health, with women facing a one in 6,900 lifetime risk of maternal death. This was far greater than Poland (19,800), Austria (19,200) and Belarus (45,200) as well as many other Eastern European countries. In the US, there is a one in 1,800 lifetime risk of maternal death – the worst performance of any developed country in the world.
High risk pregnancies in the UK are thought to be linked to obesity, IVF, social deprivation, multiple pregnancies as well as increased maternal age and poorer access to health care, especially in some ethnic minority communities and among asylum seekers.
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Filed under: Hospital, Uncategorized, childbirth, pregnancy
