California Goes On Offense To Combat Maternal Deaths — And Sees Success
The California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative provides doctors and nurses with recommendations and toolkits to help improve procedures and safety protocols for obstetric emergencies, including hemorrhage and preeclampsia, the most common causes of U.S. maternal mortality
The Mercury News:
California Leading Way To Addressing Rising U.S. Maternal Mortality
Although the United States spends more on health care than any other country in the world, more than two women die every day during childbirth, making maternal mortality the highest in the U.S. compared with 49 other countries in the developed world. Studies show the U.S. maternal mortality increased more than 26 percent from 19 (per 100,000 births) in 2000 to 24 in 2014. Today, U.S. maternal mortality ratio is roughly 26 (per 100,000 births), with California continuing to show a declining trend, and Texas the highest number of pregnancy-related deaths (not only in the U.S., but the entire developed world). In California, where more babies are born than in any other state (approximately 500,000 a year — one-eighth of the U.S. total) — the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) is continuing to take a leading role in adopting new practices to reduce maternal mortality risks as well as life-threatening complications and racial disparities in obstetric care. (La Follette, 1/15)
In other public health news —
Sacramento Bee:
California's Lack Of Early Health Screening For Children Delays Proper Treatment
In 2016, less than 21 percent of California parents reported that their young children’s health care providers had them complete a standardized developmental screening tool, according to an analysis of the National Survey of Children’s Health data, which was released recently by the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. ...Formal developmental screening questionnaires are critical for catching issues in children while they’re young enough that intensive interventions might alter the course of their lives. (Wiener, 1/15)
Los Angeles Times:
Even Without Nudging Blood Pressure Up, High-Salt Diet Hobbles The Brain
A high-salt diet may spell trouble for the brain — and for mental performance — even if it doesn't push blood pressure into dangerous territory, new research has found. A new study has shown that in mice fed a very high-salt diet, blood flow to the brain declined, the integrity of blood vessels in the brain suffered, and performance on tests of cognitive function plummeted. (Healy, 1/15)
Los Angeles Times:
Too Much Business Travel Can Lead To Depression, Anxiety And Trouble Sleeping, Study Says
If you are a business traveler who has to be away from home more than two weeks a month, no one has to tell you that this much travel can wear you down. But a study from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health confirms that people who travel for business two weeks or more a month are more likely to report symptoms of anxiety, depression and trouble sleeping than those who travel less than one week a month. (Martin, 1/13)