A Comparative of Maternal Mortality in the United States, Argentina and Spain
Open Access
- Author:
- Haiman, Sophie
- Area of Honors:
- Global and International Studies
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Erin Allyson Heidt-Forsythe, Thesis Supervisor
Jonathan Eran Abel, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- maternal mortality
socioeconomic status
race/ethnicity
urbanization
maternal health - Abstract:
- Maternal mortality is a largely preventable phenomenon and a worldwide crisis highlighting problems within reproductive healthcare and health systems at large. Despite the fact that most maternal deaths are avoidable, countries worldwide are still struggling to handle this problem. Therefore, through this study, I aim to develop a better understanding of maternal mortality and show how countries can begin to address the issue. The majority of the research on maternal mortality focuses on medical issues with limited attention given to the social and economic factors that impact women’s health and their pregnancies. To address this research gap, this study explores these social and economic factors in three countries, the United States, Argentina and Spain. As a way to investigate the variability of these variables in each country, I focus on the three major cities in each country: New York City, Buenos Aires and Madrid. Although each of these three countries have considerable differences in their maternal mortality rates, there is consensus in the available research that women of lower socioeconomic status, living in communities with lower degrees of urbanization, and belonging to non-White racial/ethnic groups are at a greater risk of worse pregnancy and childbirth outcomes. Additionally, regional variations in healthcare, resulting in the fragmentation of healthcare systems, also contribute to poor maternal outcomes. Using case study analysis on the effects socioeconomic status, urbanization, race/ethnicity and other factors on maternal mortality, I argue that there are important relationships between maternal mortality and social and economic factors. I found that higher socioeconomic status and higher degrees of urbanization had a connection with higher maternal mortality. The lack of insurance coverage also exhibited a correlation with greater maternal mortality rates. Moving forward, my findings shine a light on the need for countries to address social and economic disparities to help improve maternal health and reduce maternal mortality rates.