A hidden problem

If death rates had increased from most causes, there would have been a huge national outcry and debate, ministers' jobs would have been on the line, and 'something would have been done'. I reflect, for example, on the recent problems with breast implants, which are almost exclusivity a cosmetic operation carried out at the sole volition of the woman concerned. (Yes, I know that some operations have a genuine psychological or physical need - but they are the exceptions that prove the rule.)

Now, I read on page 13 of the Sunday Telegraph that deaths of women in childbirth have doubled in five years. Of course, the base-line numbers are low, and there were only 31 deaths in London in 2010/11, but the increase is huge and has gone almost without publicity. Remember that for every death there will be several women who have been very ill.

As cited in the Lancet, the increases in mortality are linked to numbers of older mothers, prevalence of obesity, the use of fertility treatments, social deprivation, and ethnic minorities - though I don't see how the last has a direct effect.

So... we know the issues, and women are dying when before they would not have done. So, what are we doing about it?