Poor maternity care is causing deaths in Britain

Report: poor care in half of maternity deaths

Extracts from the Telegraph:

"Half of all women who die during pregnancy or after giving birth have been victims of poor quality care from doctors and midwives, a report claims.

Sub-standard care contributed to 149 of the 295 maternity deaths between 2003 and 2005, according to the study by the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (Cemach).

In many cases, mothers could have been saved if common medical conditions had been recognised earlier, it is alleged. Some women died because doctors and midwives were ignorant of "basic clinical knowledge and skills".

The review of deaths in pregnancy and childbirth, entitled Saving Mothers' Lives, also finds that many women were not seen by a senior consultant at all, even those who were in a critical care unit.

It calls for better communication between staff to cut the number of avoidable deaths. Many consultations are now carried out over the telephone, meaning problems can be overlooked, it suggests.

The report, published today, says: "The apparent lack of basic clinical knowledge and skills among some doctors, midwives and other health professionals, senior or junior, was one of the leading causes of potentially avoidable mortality."

"Gwyneth Lewis, the editor of the report, said: "Some women coming in for maternity care had arms so big that the blood pressure band couldn't go around them, and operation tables couldn't take their weight."

For the first time, cardiac problems are identified as the biggest single cause of death in maternity.

Around 16 per cent of those who died had heart disease, which is often associated with obesity. As a result of the report's findings, Cemach is to launch a three-year national inquiry into obesity in pregnancy."

I could save them their three-year national inquiry into obesity in pregnancy! - Here is the explanation:

Obesity and pregnancy

Pregnant women are at increased risk from obesity because of hormone changes during pregnancy - e.g. higher oestrogen levels. - Oestrogen is not just a sex hormone; it is a steroid, and in common with many other steroids, when its concentration in the blood increases, the walls of the veins relax and become more vulnerable to the incursion of extra salt/sodium and its accompanying water. - This extra water is, of course, a form of fluid retention: obesity is caused by fluid retention brought about by sodium/salt sensitivity. These pregnant women have become more sensitive to salt/sodium. This is why dieting does not work. The truth should be told - namely that to lose weight it is necessary to give up dieting and concentrate on reducing salt intake. To avoid unhealthy weight gain and many other health problems, it is very important that pregnant mothers keep their salt intake low.

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke and heart problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!

See my website http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/.html (The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.)

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/steroids.html

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vulnerable groups

How to Lose weight!

Children and Obesity

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

See Sodium in foods and

Associated health conditions and

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/story.html - my 'political' page

Wider implications of the flawed theory that excess calorie intake causes obesity

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