[sjg007]

Yeah that's because a lot of US obgyns don't follow standard checklist protocols. They don't even study it properly. I think the UK has the best one and I know California uses it. Is it a question of treating the birth as a medical event or as something else? I've read about doctors who have given birth at a hospital and died and the death was preventable.

Other possible factors could be a lack of prenatal care or (and this is separate) births outside of a hospital / medical setting.