Despite all the medical advances, technology and access to clean water, food, and shelter, the United States has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the industrialized world. The CDC figures show that roughly 60% of those deaths could have been prevented. In California, a team of doctors and other health professionals looked at the common causes of maternal mortality (OB hemorrhage, blood clots, and hypertension. All of these complications require quick action so the team developed a "toolkit" that could be at the ready, with everything needed to handle certain emergencies.
Items like catheters, tubing, medications and other equipment are sometimes stored in different areas, either in the labor and delivery room or other storage areas. By having a cabinet, on wheels, with everything easily accessible a situation where a mom is bleeding uncontrollably can be dealt with quicker, hopefully saving her life and the life of her child. California's rate of maternal death has gone down, as rates in other states have continued to climb, so it's important to learn from their efforts which seem to be keeping more moms alive.
