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The Health of American Mothers in the Context of Cultural Values

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Maternal Health and American Cultural Values

Part of the book series: Global Maternal and Child Health ((GMCH))

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Abstract

Maternal health in the United States of America (USA) does not compare favorably to other high-resource nations. Maternal mortality, morbidity, and near misses in the USA are the highest among high-income nations and comparable to many middle-income nations. This introductory chapter describes maternal health outcomes in the USA in the context of the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) as defined in the Healthy People 2030 document. While the SDoH describe social and environmental conditions influencing maternal health, they do not answer the underlying question of why maternal mortality and morbidity are so high. This chapter proposes that the SDoH describe conditions that are markers of decisions at all levels. These decisions, grounded in historical and cultural values, drive both positive and negative outcomes for maternal health.

  • Maternal health.

  • Maternal mortality.

  • Maternal morbidity.

  • Maternal health outcomes.

  • Failure to rescue, healthcare.

  • Healthy People Programs.

  • Social determinants of health.

  • Cultural values.

  • American culture.

  • Social values.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Frontier Nursing University, Versailles, KY, USA

    Barbara A. Anderson

  2. Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA

    Lisa R. Roberts

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  1. Barbara A. Anderson
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Frontier Nursing University, Versailles, KY, USA

    Barbara A. Anderson

  2. Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA

    Lisa R. Roberts

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Anderson, B.A., Roberts, L.R. (2023). The Health of American Mothers in the Context of Cultural Values. In: Anderson, B.A., Roberts, L.R. (eds) Maternal Health and American Cultural Values. Global Maternal and Child Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23969-4_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23969-4_1

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