Miriam Ortega
Maternal care is essential for women and infants. Maternal care extends from the pregnancy period to the period after giving birth. The use of contraceptives lies in this sector of healthcare. Florida’s policies on the use of contraceptives allow everyone from any age to purchase contraceptives. Therefore, even at an age below 18 years, it is possible and legal to acquire contraceptives. Abortion is a criminal offense in several nations all over the world. In Florida, abortion is legal. Fifty-six percent of Florida’s adults revealed that abortion ought to be legal in most or even all cases. However, Florida requires that, for all persons under the age of eighteen years, a legal guardian or parent be notified of the abortion before the plan is put into motion and permit the victim to have an abortion. Insurance cover does not cover voluntary abortion. However, suppose the abortion is meant to protect the mother’s life, and it is certified by a medical professional. In that case, a case can be made for the insurance to cover the abortion (Ely et al., 2020). Therefore, abortion for women with insurance cover may differ a little bit from those without insurance cover (Ely et al., 2020).
Florida’s infant mortality rate was 6.01 deaths per thousand live births in 2019 (Atwell, 2019). Infant and maternal mortality rates are related in that they occur during birth or abortion. Infant mortality is the death of an infant during childbirth, while maternal mortality is the death of the mother during the process of giving birth. Infant and maternal mortality rates may occur mostly during abortions if the process is not performed well; or due to other complications during the process of giving birth (Atwell, 2019).
References
Atwell, A. L. M. (2019). Infant Mortality and Structural Determinants of Health in Northwest Florida (Doctoral dissertation, University of West Florida).
Ely, G. E., Hales, T. W., & Agbemenu, K. (2020). An exploration of the experiences of Florida abortion fund service recipients. Health & Social Work, 45(3), 186-194.
Luanda Gan Bedoya
Access to Maternal Health Resources and Polices in Florida State
Florida is a developed state where maternal health is taken seriously. The family planning health services there are rendered by independent agencies and health departments of local hospitals. For example, women of different ages and with various levels of income have access to FDA-approved birth control methods, screening for cancer and STDs, pregnancy tests and counseling (Blakeney et al., 2020). Moreover, the healthcare system of the state is able to provide follow-up and referral services. Those residents of Florida who live below the poverty line are provided with the abovementioned services for free. When it comes to abortion, it can be administered to all pregnant women up to 18 weeks. When it comes to teenagers, Florida law requires them to notify their parents about the intention to have an abortion. There is a high level of equality in accessing contraceptives, since they are provided to all patients regardless of their financial situation. The Florida Healthy Adolescent Act is focused on ensuring a proper sex education in order to minimize the cases with negative maternal health outcomes (Mason et al., 2016). This legalization is effective in the promotion of health and wellness among women of different ages.
Infant and Maternal Mortality Rates in Florida State
Despite the progress, the mortality rate among infants is approximately 6 per 1,000 births, while the maternal mortality rate is 16 per 100,000 births (Bernet et al., 2020). These numbers are very high and can be defined as the worst in the country. The main reason for it is that mothers tend to delay getting treatment to avoid facing additional costs. As a result, the major cause of mortality is internal bleeding due to an undiagnosed high blood pressure. Thus, while the government is set on providing all the services required to ensure the reproductive well-being of women, they do not show a willingness to allocate time and financial resources to ensure a proper care for their overall wellbeing. That is why, in order to deal with the problem, the focus should be put on a better health-related education among adults.
References
Blakeney, E. A. R., Bekemeier, B., & Zierler, B. K. (2020). Relationships between the great recession and widening maternal and child health Disparities: Findings from Washington and Florida. Race and social problems, 12(2), 87-102.
Bernet, P., Gumus, G., & Vishwasrao, S. (2020). Maternal Mortality and Public Health Programs: Evidence from Florida. The Milbank Quarterly, 98(1), 150-171.
Mason, D. J., Leavitt, J.K., Chaffee, M.W. (2016). Policy and Politics: In Nursing and Health Care. (7th Ed.) St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier, Saunders. ISBN-13: 9780323299886
Aymee Morales Aranegui
Florida State Policies and Resources on Maternal Health
As a nurse leader, I would like to practice and develop my skills in the state of Florida. It has its policy for maternal health resources like contraceptive care. Law approves contraceptive methods, and they are publicly available. The most commonly used include injections, pills, patches, as well as Intrauterine Devices (IUD) or Intrauterine Systems (IUS) (Ramirez, 2020). There is also a permit for female and male sterilization as well as implants. Therefore, Florida policies allow contraception and support its availability.
The maternal health resources also include abortion with and without insurance coverage. Although in Florida abortion is legal, according to state regulations, insurance does not cover abortion, and coverage of such operations is possible only with private insurance (NWLC, 2017). There are no exceptions, even in a life-threatening situation for the woman or if the child was conceived as a result of incest or rape. According to human rights, an individual has a full right to be in charge of their body, choose to give birth or terminate a pregnancy, being free from violence or other obstacles from people or the government (Mason et al., 2020). Alas, the state of Florida does not support this statement in practice since it does not help women who find themselves in a desperate situation associated with pregnancy. Thus, the insurance in Florida bans insurance coverage of abortions, and only the private one can be applied.
Infant and Maternal Mortality Rates in Florida
The relationship between the state’s infant and maternal mortality rates and health care policies can be identified. The total number of pregnancy-associated deaths in Florida varies from 142 to 185 per year (Hernandez & Thompson, 2020). Such indicators may occur because the insurance does not cover abortion, and many unwanted and disabled children are born. In 2019 infant mortality rate was 6.0 (infant deaths per 1,000 live births). Moreover, the common causes of death for both mothers and children are infections, hypertension, depression, and cerebrovascular accidents. (Hernandez & Thompson, 2020). There is a possibility that even suffering from these diseases, a woman is not allowed to have an abortion covered by insurance, as a result of which mortality increases because of health problems and lack of money to solve the ones. Thus, the relationship between maternal and child mortality and health care lacks funds to make an abortion or treat common diseases.
References
Hernandez, L., & Thompson, A. (2020). Florida’s pregnancy-associated mortality review 2018 update. Florida Health. http://www.floridahealth.gov/statistics-and-data/PAMR/_documents/pamr-2018-update.pdf
Mason, D. J., Dickson, E., McLemore, M. R., & Perez, G. A. (2020). Policy & politics in nursing and health care. (8th ed.). Elsevier.
NWLC (National Women’s Law Center). (2017). State laws regulation insurance coverage of abortion have serious consequences for women’s equality, health, and economic health. National Women’s Law Center. https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/50-State-Insurance-Coverage-of-Abortion-1.pdf
Ramirez, N. E. (2020). Contraceptive use among family planning program users aged 15-45+: Florida, 2017-2019. Florida Health. http://www.floridahealth.gov/programs-and-services/womens-health/family-planning/contraceptive-use-report-florida-2017-2019.pdf
Henly Rojas
Florida’s Policies on Access to Maternal Health Resources
I can comment that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) presents distributions that ensure and promote the safety and support of women’s maternal health. Said law provides outstanding viability to different maternal women’s health care services. As an example of the above I can mention the use of contraceptives, family planning, evaluation and treatment of gestational diabetes and the improvement of health care for the newborn and his mother. State law has also made the coverage offered by insurers more affordable and cheaper, especially for women who do not have health coverage. The policies proposed by the state of Florida are aimed at protecting women in general, with or without medical coverage, from the exclusion practices that insurance companies have. I can also comment that one of the services provided by said law is develop and increase the orientation related to abortion, managing to increase the percentage of pregnant women and their families in relation to childbirth. This issue of abortion has increased with education about it so that many families understand the risk that it brings, and education related to the issue that its low prices are the product of nurses and / or doctors who perform it without a license. and without any or few sanitation measures. Among the programs that the state of Florida has implemented to achieve this, I can mention the Block Grant for Maternal and Child Health of Title V. The elements of said Title V have developed and increased the health and well-being of mothers., pregnant women and children of little economic reach.
With reference to the statistics presented by the Florida Department of Health, they have shown that the infant mortality rate in our state as of 2018 was 6 per 1000 live births, being the mortality rate of mothers, it was expressed as 15.8 per 100,000 live births. Another piece of information to communicate is that among the reasons that lead to the death of mothers, I can comment on obstetric complications, obstructed labor, hemorrhages, sepsis and eclampsia, these being also causes of neonatal deaths. As a nurse, I can comment that these deaths can be controlled by offering information on primary health care, as well as improving the health services provided to pregnant women and newborns.
References
Florida Department of Health. (2021). FLHealth CHARTS Community Health Assessment
Resource Tool Set. Retrieved from https://flhealthcharts.com/charts/MaternalAndChildHealth/default.aspx
Florida Department of Health. (2018). Maternal and Child Health Services Title V Block
Grant Florida FY 2019 Application. Retrieved from http://www.floridahealth.gov › pregnancy › mch-titl… PDF
Blakeney, E. A., Bekemeier, B., & Zierler, B. K. (2020). Relationships between the great recession and widening maternal and child health Disparities: Findings from Washington and Florida. Race and social problems, 12(2), 87-102. DOI: 10.1007/s12552-019-09272-1
Adelisa Bencomo
9/20/21, 4:38 PM
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Policies on Contraceptives and Abortion in Florida Health Department and Infant and Maternal Mortality Rates
I will discuss the health policies on access to contraceptives and indulgences surrounding abortion in Florida. These health concerns have been outlined under the Comprehensive Family Planning, specifically in statute 381.0051 (Vilda et al., 2021). The policy element elaborates that there is access to service limitations and that there lacks no health care entity or federal bodies that intervene or stop the residents their outright right to exercise their need to use contraceptives that have been proven to be clinically safe effective. Additionally, these regulations have highlighted that any complications resulting from using the same have to be medically managed, except pregnancy.
The policies that oversee the health indulgences about abortion in Florida tend to be more stringent and complex concerning other states in the United States. An enactment got passed in 2013 by the governor termed Ron Scott that mandated that all health care providers performing the abortion give a mandatory health care protocol in case there is a chance that the baby comes out alive (Verma et al., 2020). According to this law, any error that results from this process is punishable with 12 months prison time with a fine exceeding one thousand US dollars.
It is prime to accord those nurses and doctors are mandated to report all health care activities and events surrounding abortion to the Florida Health Care Department. Additionally, these regulations include the partaking of the same by patients who lack an insurance health scheme. It is essential to know that the rate of deaths of infants and mothers is at 6 per 100 live births. Additionally, contraceptives have been related to this health stat, but no concrete conclusion has been reached.
References
Vilda, D., Wallace, M. E., Daniel, C., Evans, M. G., Stoecker, C., & Theall, K. P. (2021). State Abortion Policies and Maternal Death in the United States, 2015‒2018. American Journal of Public Health, (0), e1-e9.
Verma, N., & Shainker, S. A. (2020, August). Maternal mortality, abortion access, and optimizing care in an increasingly restrictive United States: a review of the current climate. In Seminars in Perinatology (Vol. 44, No. 5, p. 151269). WB Saunders.
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Gioconda A. Orellana
Florida’s Policies on Access to Maternal Health Resources
Florida‘s Affordable Care Act (ACA) has provisions that ensure the protection of women’s maternal health. The health care law facilitates improved accessibility to various maternal health services such as contraceptive care and newborn healthcare services. The state’s law has also made health coverage more affordable and easily accessible particularly to those women without health insurance coverage. The state’s policies on access to maternal health resources focus on protecting women with or without health insurance coverage from discriminatory health insurance practices (Mason et al., 2016). The Florida policies on maternal health currently cover specific women’s preventative services such as family planning, screening for gestational diabetes, and contraceptive counseling at no additional out-of-pocket costs. Florida has facilitated the eradication of health care disparities in the state by administering programs such as Title V Maternal and Child Health Block Grant. The Title V programs have promoted and improved the health and wellbeing of low-income mothers, pregnant women, and children (Florida Department of Health, 2018). Women can now access FDA-approved birth control methods and supplies, therefore, preventing pregnancy-related health risks for women. Florida’s policies on maternal health have facilitated adequate access to maternal care, higher standards of care, and improved quality of health outcomes for women.
The Florida Department of Health statistics has indicated that the infant mortality rate in Florida as of 2018 was 6.0 per 1000 live births while the maternal mortality rate was 15.8 per 100,000 live births (Florida Department of Health, 2021). The connection between infant and maternal mortality rates is evident in that newborns whose mothers die during delivery have low survival rates and are likely to die during their first year. The underlying causes of maternal mortality such as obstetric complications translate to the increased risks of neonatal death. Complications such as obstructed labor and hemorrhage, Sepsis, and eclampsia remain the leading causes of infant deaths (Kirby &Verbiest, 2021). The Florida Health Department also needs to address the existing inequalities and eliminate health disparities to ensure improved access to maternal health resources.
References
Florida Department of Health. (2021). FLHealth CHARTS Community Health Assessment
Resource Tool Set. Retrieved from
https://flhealthcharts.com/charts/MaternalAndChildHealth/default.aspx
Florida Department of Health. (2018). Maternal and Child Health Services Title V Block
Grant Florida FY 2019 Application. Retrieved from http://www.floridahealth.gov
› pregnancy › mch-titl… PDF
Kirby, R.S., &Verbiest, S. (2021). Kotchs maternal and child health: Problems, programs,
and policy in public health. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Mason, D. J., Gardner, D. B., Outlaw, F. H., & OGrady, E. (2016). Policy and Politics: In
Nursing and Health Care (7th ed.). Elsevier.
