Full Citation

Title: Declining access to US maternity care is a systemic injustice

Citation Type: Journal Article

Publication Year: 2023

ISBN: 2021.100480

ISSN: 1756-1833

DOI: 10.1136/BMJ.P2038

NSFID:

PMCID:

PMID: 37678911

Abstract: The problem of medically underserved areas requires structural change, writes Katy Backes Kozhimannil Access to healthcare is an internationally recognised human right, but the United States is failing at honouring this right for people who are pregnant.1 Research documenting the scope and consequences of declining access to maternal healthcare, especially in rural areas, has been amassing over the past 10 years.23 News stories have followed, and policy makers have paid attention. In 2018 Congress passed the Improving Access to Maternity Care Act.4 Yet, despite evidence, media attention, and policy action, the situation isn’t getting better. Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts Across the US , a 2022 report from the non-profit organisation March of Dimes, highlighted ongoing and worsening gaps in access to care during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period, concentrated in rural and low income communities.5 For example, the report said that in 2022 more than 2.2 million women of reproductive age lived in counties with no maternity care access, an uptick since the organisation’s 2020 report—indicating that 15 933 women lost local maternity care access over those two years. The central role of social determinants in health outcomes is now widely acknowledged, yet research and recommendations still often focus on individual and clinical risk factors. The structural and political changes necessary to reverse inequitable resource allocations across various areas of healthcare in …

Url: https://www.bmj.com/content/382/bmj.p2038

Url: https://www.bmj.com/content/382/bmj.p2038.abstract

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Kozhimannil, Katy Backes

Periodical (Full): BMJ

Issue:

Volume: 382

Pages: p2038

Countries: