The U.S. health care system “consistently fails” to meet the basic needs of reproductive-age women, which may partly explain why women are more than three times as likely to die during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth in the U.S. compared to other high-income countries, according to new research from the Commonwealth Fund.
The U.S. has among the highest maternal mortality rates among high-income countries — a well documented trend that is even worse among people of color and has accelerated during the pandemic. But a new report by the Commonwealth Fund found that U.S. women of reproductive age also fare worse when it comes to their general health and ability to access care.
Compared to women in other high-income countries, women of reproductive age (18-49) in the U.S. are more likely to be without a primary care doctor, struggle to pay medical bills, skip care because of cost, develop multiple chronic health conditions and — ultimately — die from avoidable causes, according to the report, which analyzed data from the Commonwealth Fund’s 2020 International Health Policy Survey and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
