The United States has the highest maternal mortality rates among developed countries, and cardiovascular disease is the leading cause. Therefore, the American Heart Association has a unique role in advocating for efforts to improve maternal health and to enhance access to and delivery of care before, during, and after pregnancy. Several initiatives have shaped the time course of major milestones in advancing maternal and reproductive health equity in the United States. There have been significant strides in improving the timeliness of data reporting in maternal mortality surveillance and epidemiological programs in maternal and child health, yet more policy reforms are necessary. To make a sustainable and systemic impact on maternal health, further efforts are necessary at the societal, institutional, stakeholder, and regulatory levels to address the racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health, to effectively reduce inequities in care, and to mitigate maternal morbidity and mortality. In alignment with American Heart Association’s mission “to be a relentless force for longer, healthier lives,” this policy statement outlines the inequities that influence disparities in maternal outcomes and current policy approaches to improving maternal health and suggests additional potentially impactful actions to improve maternal outcomes and ultimately save mothers’ lives.

中文翻译：

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行动呼吁：孕产妇健康和拯救母亲：美国心脏协会的政策声明

美国是发达国家中孕产妇死亡率最高的国家，心血管疾病是主要原因。因此，美国心脏协会在倡导努力改善孕产妇健康并增加孕前、孕中和孕后护理的可及性和提供方面发挥着独特的作用。几项举措塑造了美国促进孕产妇和生殖健康公平的主要里程碑的时间进程。在提高孕产妇死亡率监测和孕产妇和儿童健康流行病学项目数据报告的及时性方面取得了重大进展，但还需要进行更多的政策改革。为了对孕产妇健康产生可持续和系统性的影响，社会、机构、利益相关者、和监管水平，以解决孕产妇健康方面的种族和族裔差异，有效减少护理不公平，并降低孕产妇发病率和死亡率。与美国心脏协会的使命“成为更长寿、更健康生活的不懈力量”相一致，该政策声明概述了影响孕产妇结局和当前改善孕产妇健康的政策方法差异的不平等，并建议采取其他可能有影响力的行动来改善孕产妇结局并最终挽救母亲的生命。