Do you think medical insurance regulations affect this?
By Debs_place
@Debs_place (10520)
United States
February 9, 2007 12:30am CST
I was reading about Anna Nicole SMith's death and found this blurb:
According to the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs, despite the fact that the U.S. is one of the most medically and economically advanced countries in the world, American women experience unexpectedly high death rates during pregnancy and after childbirth. The agency says that two to three women in this country die each day from complications related to pregnancy, and 30 percent of all pregnant women experience some type of illness or injury beyond what is expected during a normal childbirth.
Now a days we all know the insurance companies want to cut costs, so people are often out of the hospital within 12 hours of giving birth?
I had surgery, spent 5 days in intensive care. Less then one day in a regular room and then home. I could barely walk, I was seeing double, could not hold my head up.
So what do you think, is the cause of the high death rates related to pregnancy and birth in the US?
What are your experiences with medical treatments? What are the problems? Doctors, insurance, HMO'!!!
Speak up!!
3 people like this
4 responses
@Willowlady (10657)
• United States
9 Feb 07
Not including her weight loss and gain and drus probably used. She did have a baby 5 months ago. She also had the stress of her son dying. Stress affects our immunity.
Hospitals are crawling with resistant bacteria and other things. They do what they can to disinfect however they are in a losing battle in most hospitals. It is true that many people would survive many procedures if they did not get whatever virulent bacteria that they came in contact with. Having babies is dangerous along these lines.
You did get out of the hospital too soon, perhaps it saved you after all. Women are not as fit these days and so that makes the birthing experience tougher. Our diets do not lend themselves to healthy bodies either.
Definitely worth talking more about!
2 people like this
@Willowlady (10657)
• United States
11 Feb 07
Yeah, it is agreed our health care is in big time trouble. Our country is too since we are becoming to unhealthy overall. Seems like no one was home to teach the kids that knowledge is power and now that they are adults it has 'helped' the system abuse those it treats.
Personally am for complimentary medicine. Offers a more complete picture to an ailing way of treating people. Thanks for responding to me.
1 person likes this
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
10 Feb 07
I think it is sad, that we have the worse medical care overall, that is what bothers me.
When I hear things like Anna Nicole Smith, I know she does not have a normal life style, so I blow that off.
But what is happening to American women overall is not right. I wonder what if anything is being done about this sort of thing. It is kind of amazing, with all of the information available on the internet, people just seem to know less then they need to know.
People still believe in the old wives tales and aren't moving ahead.
I consider myself to be on the older end of the sprectrum for learning about the internet and things, but even today's kids seem pretty clueless.
1 person likes this
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
9 Feb 07
All three are guilty. This country went way ti high in health care cost. The richest counrty has the poorest medical care. Yes, USA has the best doctors and hospitals, but only few can affort it.
2 people like this
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
10 Feb 07
You got that right, righ tnow I have to medical insurance, I need an anticonvulsant real bad, I went to the Sam's website looking what generics they have, and the only one cause so many problems in me, I could not leave the house alone. I got lost driving all the time, could not remember things...here is a way to do well at work - call your boss by the wrong name- ouch.
I can't afford medical care, so I have to depend on a heating pad for relief.
1 person likes this
@mom2chriskel (1060)
• United States
9 Feb 07
I think part of it is we can't super long with insurance. But some of it is we don't go back because we don't know if what we are experiencing is normal.
I've given birth in 2 different hospitals. The first was a military hospital. I bled so bad and they didn't seem to care. The second hospital they gave me meds to stop the heaving bleeding and clots and I couldn't go home til it slowed somewhat. And still the nurse from the hospital called me 2 days after I went home.
2 people like this
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
10 Feb 07
You are right, part of it is patient education, people don't realize what is normal and what is requires a visit to the hospital.
Wow, sounds like your military hospital was not up to standards. I think our budgets are pressed out to far to give the proper treatment to everyone.
1 person likes this
@beaniefanatic13 (5068)
• Grand Junction, Colorado
10 Feb 07
I think that it's a combination of all of the above. Doctor's don't have time to spend longer than a couple of minutes at best in a room with you ask about your symptoms, check ears, nose throat, listen to you breath and tell you, you have a virus, or here's a prescription for blah, are you allergic to anything? Insurance companies just want your money but if you get a serious illness your on your own we aren't covering it. HMO's with their constant you need a referral for this and a referral for that. I need another referral I have to blow my nose. :) The entire thing is enough to give a healthy person an anurism. I don't if all of what I said is really correct or not it is all just my opinion, but that is certainly how it looks to me. Sorry for climbing up on my soap box, I have placed it back under the kitchen sink. lol I think that I should head to bed now with an aspirin. Good luck here at mylot!
1 person likes this
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
10 Feb 07
No, you are right, sometimes a referral is a good thing, a which doctor do I see, I ws diagnosed with a medical problem in the 90's. Was sent to a neurologist. 7 months and many medications later, I complained 7 months later, that I was still having alot of pain, he told me to be patient - I had a stubborn pain.
I went back to my GP, who agreed I had been patient, he sent me to a doctor about 90 miles away, a specialist, after about8 more months and no relief, I had surgery.
The surgery left me deaf on one ear and with some balance problems. And the problem still persists.
And now I have no insurance.
What a country!
1 person likes this
