USA Today: US most dangerous developed country for pregnant women in labour

Maternal mortality rates have been on the rise in recent times and the United States of America is not the safest haven to give birth.

According to an investigation carried out by USA Today, the United States is considered to be one of the most dangerous places to give birth in a list of developed countries.

The high death rates during labor are largely credited to negligence by hospitals, including the failure to perform safety checks like loss of blood and monitoring the blood pressure.

Alison Young led the long-term study on the topic and followed up similar studies and research work carried out by the New York Times and Pro Publica. Read more about on our Twitter account @amomama_usa.

Young found out that over 50,000 women are severely injured during labor every year while the death toll during childbirth is about 700.

The number of women dying in such scenarios has doubled since the '90s despite medical advancements. The higher percentage of victims were women of color and with low socioeconomic backgrounds.

Women from the African-American community were three times more likely to lose their life during childbirth than white women.

Senior associate dean at the George Washington University School of Public Health, Michael Lu said that death during childbirth should not take place in one of the most powerful nations on the planet.

Lu added that the risk of deaths in African-American women would drop by half if they could give birth at the same hospitals as white women.

One case of painful labor made news when famous tennis player Serena Williams shared her story of childbirth. Williams was rushed to the hospital to undergo a C-section during the birth of her daughter Alexis Olympia.

Post the delivery, an involuntary coughing spree reopened her wounds and the doctors found out multiple near-fatal blood clots in her body, as reported by People.