after. and then, over 50% occur seven days to a year after the pregnancy. so, you know, i think that, even there, that understanding that the risk is not just when a woman is carrying the pregnancy, it s beyond, you know, it s the factors that led up to them carrying that pregnancy, and then what we re providing for them afterwards. and i think to answer your question, that s where the factors that come into play, it could be policy, in terms of health policy, in terms of access. or does the patient live in a maternity care desert. you know, where is their nearest birthing center or hospital to receive obstetric care? and then you add on the layers of racism that are always at play, it just makes it a very difficult issue. yeah, and according to the cdc, 80% of maternal deaths are preventable. you said, you know, it s multi-f
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delivering babies in june. that came a few days after facility in northern idaho made its own announcement, citing doctor shortages in the political climate. that means patients will have to travel to cities, hours or way or even out of state for care. joining me now is dr elizabeth shero, senior vice president, chief medical health officer for the march of dimes. doctor really appreciate your time. this is tragic. you know, the expectant mother is the last thing they should be dealing with is the logistics of seeing a doctor to make sure that they and their baby are healthy. what kind of impact are we seeing on the health of these expected mothers when there are no nearby hospitals in the small town they live in? well thank you for having me today. this is a really important topic. the march of dimes put out of maternity care doesn t report last one was in 22. our next one is coming out actually this june and realize the maternity care desert is where a county has no provider, whether
this, you know, america has the highest maternal death rate of any wealthy, industrialized country and for black women. it s even worse. i think it s you know, double more than double the rate of the white maternal death rate in this country. i can t help but wonder how much these maternity care desserts are going to impact this maternal death rate that needs to be reversed yesterday. yes we re already in a crisis across this country and these maternity care desert, r idaho, being a perfect example that we need to be really looking at the data they re having shortages of staff, both nursing obstetrical providers. these units are you know, 25 bed hospital is what they re talking about. and you know, in idaho that low volume is not helpful, and most of it is medicaid. um so and our reimbursement is so low for this, so we re not prioritizing maternal care in this country and we re heading in the wrong