Tiny Fighters: Backtracking
Hi everyone! Welcome back to my blog!
Last time I evaluated the underlying biological mechanisms at play regarding necrotizing enterocolitis as well as how bile acids are influenced and their significance in determining the onset of symptoms and the severity of NEC. This week’s blog will take a detour, as mentioned in an earlier blog, to examine the differences in prenatal care between the United States and the United Kingdom. The reason why I wanted to discuss this topic and its socioeconomic side is because as I was talking to my professor this week through Zoom, we touched briefly on how prenatal care affects NEC.
Upon further research, the United Kingdom and the U.S. used to have similar if not, mortality rates among infants. However, that trend is not seen anymore as the U.K.’s mortality rate has declined significantly by three times over these decades. Whereas, the U.S. has only decreased by 2.87%. Some differences that I’ve noted in prenatal care were the number of visits, standards, care providers, and antenatal care.
In the U.K., there are fewer prenatal trips to the doctor and most mothers don’t get tested to see if they are pregnant until week 9. Additionally, there is no confirmation of viability until week 12 or so. Viability is a term used to indicate the chance of survival for the fetus if it is delivered before it is fully developed. A fetus is detected to be viable when there is a steady heartbeat and is dependent on birth weight and gestation age. However, in the U.S., blood tests are done early around in the first trimester to ensure pregnancy and then proceed to have subsequent appointments in the first trimester.
The standards between the U.S. and the U.K. are also worth mentioning. The UK has strict policies and guidelines that help practitioners care for all mothers before, after, and during childbirth. The U.S. on the other hand, tends to lack in this department of healthcare as it does not have universal health care or adequate federal standards. Medical authorities in the U.K. view maternal deaths as public health failures that show deficiencies in the healthcare system and strive to investigate and learn. Unfortunately, in the U.S., maternal deaths are seen as private times of grief and frequently, they are perceived as institutional issues within a hospital rather than a national issue. Post-partum care is also lacking immensely in the U.S. healthcare system compared to the U.K. because of this mentality.
The insurance plans also provide a stark contrast in prenatal care. Midwives are highly respected in the U.K. but they are only present for 8% of births in the U.S. Planned births are covered by midwives because their services are covered by insurance, so the responsibility or prenatal care is shared between midwives and obstetricians/gynecologists. Additionally, mothers are assigned “named midwives” who look after the well-being of the mother her child, and her family during all three stages: pregnancy, labor/childbirth, and postnatal. Antenatal care is prental care. However, there is a wide disparity in antenatal care compared to the U.S. Because of the midwives, mothers can request how much medical intervention they desire, the location of birth, the role of the partner (cutting the umbilical cord), and the type of pain relievers.
Looking at these factors that may influence prenatal care, it does show how prenatal care is crucial in detecting NEC. Tomorrow, I will have the opportunity to visit the lab at Tuscon and experience those underlying biological mechanisms we talked about last time for the first time. I am really excited and I hope to learn more about NEC. Thank you for reading!
https://www.propublica.org/article/why-giving-birth-is-safer-in-britain-than-in-the-u-s
Comments:
All viewpoints are welcome but profane, threatening, disrespectful, or harassing comments will not be tolerated and are subject to moderation up to, and including, full deletion.