Amnesty International released a report on maternal mortality in the U.S.: Deadly Delivery: The Maternal Health Care Crisis in the USA. Both the rate and absolute number of maternal deaths in the U.S. more than doubled between 1987 and 2006. Amnesty International called this rate “shocking” and attributed the surge in maternal deaths to our “maternal health care crisis”, which the group called “not just a public health emergency” but a “human rights crisis”. The 12-page summary maps out the problems, but contained within the 150-page report itself are solutions, such as the individualized, family-oriented, minimally interventionist care provided by midwives and at birth centers.
Among the report's 50 recommendations for reducing U.S. maternal mortality is recommendation #43: "The U.S. government should direct the Department of Health and Human Services to initiate inclusive discussions about alternative and potentially more cost-effective models of care for low-risk pregnancies that could help improve the availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of maternal health care services in the USA. Federal and state governments should revise the current legal restrictions on appropriately trained and qualified midwives. Public and private insurance should include payment for services that women may choose through qualified midwives or birth centers."
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