Access to safe, affordable birth control is a maternal health issue

I am a physician. As a high-risk obstetrician (maternal-fetal medicine specialist) I pride myself on caring for women who are likely to become (or who are already) so ill that many others view caring for them as a burden. I help women achieve a safe pregnancy when colleagues have advised against pregnancy altogether. Whether it is the patient with such a complex surgical history that her cesarean delivery will include massive blood loss and a hysterectomy, or the patient with a history of liver transplant trying to carry a pregnancy for the fourth time (each unsuccessful as she struggles in and out of graft rejection), or perhaps the woman who spent weeks in the intensive care unit after each of her last two pregnancies because of complications from preeclampsia — these are the patients I care for. When careful planning is critical for a safe pregnancy In caring for these women, I see the highs and lows of life. I am still awed by the miracle of childbirth (it doesn’t matter how many times I witness birth, I still find it one of the most magical moments each and every time). However, I am also witness to the perils of pregnancy and childbirth. It happens more than you might think. Luckily, maternal deaths are rare, though complications that compromise a new mother’s health — hemorrhage, venous embolism, severe high blood pressure, organ failure, and intensive care admission — are on the rise. My patients, the very ill women whose health and lives may be at risk, and...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Family Planning and Pregnancy Health Women's Health birth control Source Type: blogs