Maternity Care In America

America being one the most industrialized nations it is shocking to most to discover that it does not provide a more beneficial maternity leave when compared to its European counterparts. Not only is Europe leading the way for a lengthier leave of absence for new mothers, they also provide financial benefits to those families with newborns, to American society this is not considered a cultural norm, in fact it is even bizarre to some that having a child while in the work force would even be beneficial. Consequently, the difficulty in accessing a reasonable maternity leave in America creates long term effects on a child’s development.

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

Maternity leave is a retreat that all mothers should have the opportunity to experience after childbirth. The birth of a child can be exciting, exhausting, and challenging for all new mothers experiencing the joys of parenthood. Unfortunately for some working mothers living in the United States, maternity leave is not always guaranteed. The United States is one of the only developed countries in the world that doesn’t guarantee paid maternity leave. An idea so common in other countries is considered a luxury benefit for hard-working mothers in the United States.

Two parallel health care systems exist: a publicly funded health care accessible to all women within Australia; and private maternity care for those who can afford private health insurance. Within these two models of care systems are further

There is an ongoing argument about the funding of Planned Parenthood in the United States. There are many reasons that some people do not want to fund it. One of those reasons is because Planned Parenthood offers abortions to women. There are people who believe that these operations should be shut down to rid our country of abortions. However, Planned Parenthood offers much more than just abortions in their clinics. Planned Parenthood should be funded because of the examinations and resources they provide, the education they give, and because it is a low income health center.

Maternity care for women in prison has not been respectable. Prison health care is undergoing a modernization program with a requirement that prisoners receive health care to the same standard as those not imprisoned. An article written by Sally Price describes the findings of a research study into the maternity services for women in prison. She provides a background to the project and describes the pregnant prison population and the current services available to them. What is evident from the findings is that the standard of care for women in prison is variable, dependent upon the establishment in which they reside. Two different studies showed results involving the incarcerated pregnant woman. The first study questioned wardens about

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.”

Oddly enough, even with all the medical technological brought forth by the US we are still ranked with a higher infant death rate than Japan. In a study published by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and titled "America's Health Starts with Healthy Children: How do States Compare?” the report found that the high infant death rate is correlated with the lack of education of the mother. Access to healthcare is another correlation to the problem since about 45 million Americans, or 15 percent of the population, are now estimated to be without any form of health insurance (O'Connor, 2008).

Currently Medicaid helps in pay for about 40% of all births in the United States; this means that 40% of births in the United States are to mothers and families that qualify for federal assistance due to situations of poverty and low income. Medicaid also only covers hospital stays and services and doctors visits. This tells us that there is a need for improvement, as well as hole in the market, for assistance in maternal/child care during birth. There should be other organizations to turn to instead of only the government. Having more options for assistance and care would allow women to make healthier and more informed decisions

Maternity care for women in prison has not been respectable. Prison health care is undergoing a modernization program with a requirement that prisoners receive health care to the same standard as those not imprisoned. The article by Sally Price describes the findings of a research study into the maternity services for women in prison. She provides a background to the project and describes the pregnant prison population and the current services available to them. What is evident from the findings is that the standard of care for women in prison is variable, dependent upon the establishment in which they reside. Two different studies showed results involving the incarcerated pregnant woman. The first study questioned wardens about the

The photograph by Steven Brahms is from an online article in Bloomberg Businessweek titled, “Maternity Leave: US Policies Still Fail Workers.” Pictured is a new mother in the hospital after having a baby. The mother, still wearing her hospital gown, is sitting at the end of the hospital bed cradling her newborn baby. She is holding the baby in her left arm while staring intensely at her laptop that is sitting on a hospital tray to her right. Simultaneously, the new mother is reaching across her body and baby with her right arm for papers that are lying on the bed to her left. The picture is reflecting how a new mother in the United States is expected by her employers to continue to do her job even after having a baby, especially if she is still

In the case study, it demonstrates how the United States is the only industrialized country without a law assuring paid maternity leave to new mothers, in comparison to other countries such as

For my cultural plunge, I decided to sit in at a birth mothers care group for women who decided to give their child or children up for adoption. This care group is one of many care groups held by Crisis Pregnancy Outreach. Crisis Pregnancy Outreach, or “CPO” is a nonprofit organization assisting women in crisis, such as those experiencing unplanned pregnancies. Their main mission is to help woman find alternate solutions to unplanned pregnancies that do not result in abortion.

Although the United States is one of the most advanced nations in the world, some women do not receive the treatment they need and deserve to build the best lives for their children and their families. Other countries such as France and Australia have embraced paid maternity leave. The United States is seen as the mother of the globe. Other countries follow their example. America’s loyal children need an example to follow. Just six months can birth new opportunities for all new mothers and their growing

Many of us have heard of abortions, but do we truly know what an abortion really is? We know that when a woman has an abortion she basically extracts the fetus by any means but I’m sure a lot of us don’t know the different procedures to do such act. There are different methods to end a pregnancy based on the gestation time. One of the methods is to take a pill named RU486 which causes the baby to starve as the pill causes the nutrients to be blocked and soon after the baby is taken out. This usually happens during the first weeks of pregnancy. Another option used is D&C (Dilation and Curettage) in which the baby is teared apart and after is suctioned along with the placenta and other liquids. A third method used to abort babies that are as far as twenty-four weeks is D & E (Dilation and Evacuation) which is similar to D&C, but since the fetus is bigger, they must cut the baby in parts and pulled out one at a time. Those are all ways in which women have been killing innocent human beings after abortions became legal in the United States on 1973. Affecting society drastically as people slowly started losing family values and the love for human life. Many women did not care about getting married and building families. Men that actually want to raise their kids have no saying in what the woman decides to do with the pregnancy. Nowadays, men won’t even know if their partner went and did an abortion.