Maternity Care In America Essay

The health nurse can be a great advocate in identifying both the current and future needs of the parent and baby. Many community services are available to assist with nutritional needs, prenatal care services, and future childcare needs (Kaakinen, Coehlo, Steele, Tabacco, & Hanson, 2014). I myself was once a young pregnant mother who required assistance. Working a part-time minimum wage job while pregnant with my first child and attending nursing school full-time, I struggled financially. Before the time of healthcare reform, first-time pregnant mothers did not receive governmental assistance for health insurance or prenatal care. The community service that aided me during that time was the Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) program. Without the assistance of those wonderful nurses and program, I would have suffered from times of inability to buy food for myself while pregnant and would have also struggled to buy formula for my newborn. Not only was the food assistance godsend, the practical and applicable knowledge I gained from the nurse educators was

In the past thirty years the number of incarcerated women in the United States increased by 646%, it is estimated that 6-10% of these women were pregnant at intake. “An Examination of Care Practices of Pregnant Women Incarcerated in Jail Facilities in the United States,” is a study that examined the pregnancy related accommodation and health care provided for regional jail populations. Prior to this study no other study examined regional jail populations, they strictly focused on prison populations. This study is a quantitative survey of common practices and policies implemented across 53 jail facilities in the United States as a function of geographic region. This survey was administered through phone or email to employees

One important health disparity is the lack of prenatal care amongst women in socially disadvantaged populations. These predominately include women of minorities, women who have a low income, and the location these women live in. This health disparity is important to address because research has shown that women who receive prenatal care are more likely to conceive babies of a healthy birth weight and have low infant mortality rates than those women who do not receive this prenatal care ("Putting Women 's Health Disparities on the Map," 2009). Therefore, health disparities amongst women in need of prenatal care have lead to preventable infant mortalities amongst women in vulnerable populations. Three reasons why this health disparity is important to address include the following: health disparities in prenatal care lead to lack of access to prenatal care to women in vulnerable populations, there are increased adverse health outcomes for both the infant and mother, and there are excess medical expenses that could otherwise have been prevented. Because “prematurity is the leading cause of newborn death in the United States” (“Healthy Mothers and Healthy babies,” 2013), finding and developing a solution will be extremely beneficial and needs to begin with addressing prenatal care.

Pregnant mothers are viewed as a business made for doctors and hospitals as insurances typically cover infant birth and hospital bills. As Patricia Burkhardt, Clinical Associate Professor, NYU Midwifery Program could not speak the truth any better, she states, “Hospitals are a business. They want those beds filled and emptied. They don’t want women hanging around the labor room.”

Explain how access to health care can promote the health of women and their babies during pregnancy. Access to health carers such as midwives, doctors and obstetricians can promote the health of women and their babies during pregnancy. These professionals are able to provide support and information, as they monitor the mother’s health and wellbeing and that of the baby. In addition, they are able to identify special medical or personal requirements that the mother may need.

However, it is incorrect to assume that cutting funding to programs like Medicaid and Planned Parenthood are the way to save money. In fact, by providing care which included birth control, family planning clinics alone “helped prevent 2.2 million unplanned pregnancies in 2010” (Culp-Ressler). This study shows that it is more cost effective to supply birth control freely than it is to financially aid women in properly caring for unanticipated children. For example, in 2011, unplanned pregnancies nationwide totaled an average of $11 billion in costs for American taxpayers. However, reducing unintentional pregnancies averages to a total of $5.6 billion in savings (“Nation Pays Steep”). Therefore, a viable solution to attain these kinds of savings is it to prevent these accidental pregnancies in the first place which free birth control can do. Furthermore, cutting funding to Medicaid and family planning services is ineffective and additionally reduces the chances of a woman to attain birth control.

Early prenatal care can prevent potential medical problems and increase opportunities for positive outcomes for mothers and infants.

According to researchers paid maternity leave is an initiative that enhances health for babies and their mothers. Additionally, it lowers rates of post-delivery depression, childhood immunizations, and infant mortality. Henceforth, paid maternity leave is one of the wits that can improve the nation’s health. However, it is one area in which the U.S. is lagging behind. In fact, the United States of America is one of the three countries in the world that does not mandate paid maternity leave. The other two include Suriname and Papua New Guinea (Goodman 16). In terms of offering maternity leave, even the developing countries

The article shows a correlation between the lack of prenatal care with infant mortality, and inadequate prenatal care with low birth-weight. Additionally, White women who delivered on a private service and received inadequate prenatal care experienced only slightly risk of low birth-weight. On the other hand, White and Black women who delivered on general service and received inadequate prenatal care experienced significantly higher risk of low birth-weight.

It is difficult for women with little money or no health insurance to get the appropriate amount of maternity care that they need in the United States. America has one of the highest maternal mortality rates out of all of the major countries in the world even though the maternity care in America is one of the most expensive. Receiving prenatal care and giving birth at a hospital can cost well over a couple of thousand dollars in the United States. A lot of professional jobs in America offer health insurance, which covers maternity care, but not all jobs come with the benefit of health insurance. It is possible to buy health insurance if one does not have a job or a job that covers it, but it costs a couple of hundred dollars a month. America

First, there is inconsistent obstetric practice. Hospitals across the USA lack a standard approach to managing obstetric emergencies and the complications of pregnancy and childbirth are often identified too late. A second factor is the increasing number of women who present at antenatal clinics with chronic conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes and obesity, which contribute to pregnancy-related complications. Many of these women could benefit from the closer coordination of antenatal and primary care – including case management and other community-based services that help them access care and overcome cost and other obstacles. Another factor is the general lack of good data – and related analysis – on maternal health outcomes. Only half

Women in the United States should be guaranteed a paid maternal leave. The United States is the only industrialized country that does not guarantee paid maternity leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act was passed in 1993, and it protects a woman’s position at her job for 12 weeks: It does not mandate pay (Holohan). Paid maternity leave is not unheard of in the United States. California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island- these are the states that offer some form of paid leave to new mothers. It is not enough to only have four states offer paid leave. Only 12% of Americans are able to take a paid maternity leave (NPR). Paid maternity leave should be mandated in every state.

Prenatal care is medical care for pregnant woman and is important for a healthy pregnancy. Its key components include regular checkups and prenatal testing, eating healthfully, exercising, and beginning as soon as one knows she is pregnant.

Once a woman is pregnant she should register to a program where she will receive free checkups throughout the pregnancy period. The doctors will be able to detect whether there’s any problems with the baby is there any precaution that the woman has to take. How they doing the right thing, whether not if they are eating right if they can’t afford food for some reasons it should be provided to them. Pregnant should not be worrying about not being able to afford a doctor, the bills that will come afterward and anything that can affect them psychologically. In countries like France and Canada, free health care is available to the citizens and they are less powerful than the United States. Protection of the citizens should not only derive from preventing attack and wars but also should focus on health related issues and the well-being of the

Historically the role of the women was aligned with motherhood and supporting the household.Drastically changed in the 21st century, women are now the sole providers of their households all while holding top positions and providing support and love to the individuals in their lives’ . Welcoming the progressive era, a time of robust improvements for many areas in society, public health was one. With the increasing advancement of medical technologies many diseases that most thought to be incurable had treatments and things that could help an individual live a number of years more than if there was no treatment at all. This era also welcomed the Sheppard-Towner Maternity and Infancy Protection Act allowing for monetary funds to be issued that encouraged the health and education surrounding mothers and children. Not included act was maternity leave rights. Maternity leave did not make it into official documents until after the Civil Rights act, and the denial of its regulations within the house and senate. Boushey (2008) divided maternity leave into two categories. She stated,