January 23, 2024, will mark the 8th Annual Maternal Health Awareness Day—the one day a year we come together to raise awareness about the country’s maternal morbidity crisis and how we can improve physical and mental health outcomes for mothers. This is a day that is very close to my heart, as in 2018, I nearly died giving birth to my second son. No mother should have to consider that kind of reality during the birth of a new baby, but many do. And physical health problems are just the beginning.
I was lucky enough to come out of the delivery room with my life, but many other women aren’t as lucky. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 700 women die in childbirth every year, and over 50,000 more nearly die, experiencing “severe maternal morbidity,” most often due to complications from severe bleeding. Surprisingly, the rate of maternal mortality in the U.S. has been increasing, making it worse now than it was 20 years ago. The trend goes in the opposite direction internationally, with maternal death rates steadily declining in every other developed country (MacDorman et al., 2016). Importantly, the risk of maternal death and morbidity isn’t the same for everyone. According to the CDC, African American women are three to four times more likely to die of complications during pregnancy or birth than White or Hispanic women. A similar trend exists for infant mortality. And even when a pregnancy is healthy, women can experience long-term consequences from being pregnant, including chronic pain, increased risk of hypertension, cardiovascular disease and stroke, kidney stones, and many, many more. In short, just getting pregnant puts a woman’s health at risk.
Even when pregnancy and birth don’t lead to physical issues, becoming a parent can cause mental health issues. In fact, up to 75% of women experience some form of post-partum “blues” following pregnancy, with 15% of these women going on to develop post-partum depression. Another 11-21% of mothers will develop post-partum anxiety. Given the already high number of people who experience depression and anxiety every day (over 264 million worldwide), this constitutes a serious problem for new parents.
Indeed, anxiety, depression, and stress can lead to various negative health outcomes in the short term, including stomach pain, headaches, and muscle aches, and has long-term consequences like high blood pressure and heart disease. Further, having anxious or depressed parents can have serious consequences for children, beginning in........