Deliveries in the U.S.: higher costs not equaling better results

Many types of medical care can be on the expensive side here in the United States. Delivery care is one such type of care, and it has, generally, been getting more and more expensive here in the past couple of decades. It is estimated that, the average cost of a child delivery in the U.S. in 2009 was at around twice the level it was at in 1993.

Has this increase in the cost of delivery-related care at least led to a decrease in negative results in U.S. deliveries? Statistics indicate that the answer to this question may, unfortunately, be no.

Certain types of negative delivery-related events, such as low infant birth weight and infant deaths, have stayed at more or less the same level. Mother deaths even went up in rate between 1993 and 2009.

Why do you think America is seeing higher child delivery costs without improved delivery results? What do you think could be done to lower delivery costs? What do you think could be done to reduce the likelihood of negative delivery results? What do you see as the biggest shortcomings of delivery-related care here in the U.S.?

Bad events during a delivery, such as an infant suffering a birth injury or a mother or child dying can occur for a variety of different reasons. Sometimes, they occur as a result of care failings by a hospital, doctors or nurses. Medical malpractice attorneys can help individuals pursue legal action in relation to negative birth events caused by medical negligence.

Source: The Atlantic, “America’s Pregnancy-Care Paradox: Paying Ever More for the Same Bad Results,” Ester Bloom, Nov. 10, 2015