Maybe you should deliver your baby in England

Fewer birthing mothers die in England than in the U.S. A lot less. In the U.K., 8.9 women for every 100,000 live births die from complications of pregnancy or childbirth. In the U.S. it's 25.1 women per 100,000 in 2015, almost three times higher than the U.K., and among the worst in the Western world. It seems as though these results reflect a greater standardization in England. Every British doctor, whether newly qualified or approaching retirement, is required to follow the same guidelines for many aspects of maternity care, including treatment of bleeding. In the U.S. this is not generally the case.

Today, the average mother in the U.K. receives more comprehensive and consistent care, ranging from earlier prenatal appointments to closer monitoring after she gives birth, than does her American counterpart. And if a mother dies, the U.K. investigates and tries to learn from it. In the U.S.,this is generally not the case. Also, in England the mother's life is prioritized if she and the baby are in danger. In America, the baby's life is prioritized.

Here, women who are poor, African American or live in a rural area are more likely to die during and after pregnancy. In the U.K., there is no statistically significant difference in mortality rates between women in the highest and lowest socioeconomic groups. Perhaps, this is because of England's National Health Service in which all British women have equal access to public medical services, including free care and prescriptions from pregnancy through the postpartum period.

Further, having a baby is cheaper there. The average cost for a normal delivery or planned cesarean section on a hospital labor ward in 2016 was $2,300 (£1,755), while a complicated case like Helen’s rose to $3,400 (£2,582). On average, the total price charged for a vaginal birth in the U.S. is $30,000 (£24,000), which rises to $50,000 (£39,000) for a cesarean section. 

England keeps better and more detailed numbers. There is a full report covering a three-year period which includes data on every woman in the U.K. who has died during pregnancy or up to six weeks after childbirth. It also discusses later maternal deaths — those occurring up to a year after delivery — and makes recommendations for improvements to care. Direct deaths from obstetric causes, such as hemorrhage, sepsis or blood clots, are distinguished from indirect deaths from conditions worsened but not caused by pregnancy, such as epilepsy or certain types of heart disease.