Tim Said:

Does anyone know statistics/chances for a woman to die during child birth?

We Answered:

Very few women actually die in pregnancy. Rate of maternal death per 100,000 births vary between countries - here are some:
USA: 12/100,000
UK: 9/100,000
AUS: 9/100,000
http://www.unicef.org/pon96/leag1wom.htm

In a developed country with a good health system childbirth is very safe and most of the risks are short term. Have a look at a pregnancy book for the kind of thing that could happen, or browse some of the better websites such as http://www.birth.com.au/Info.asp.

My impression is that serious problems are quite rare but certainly not unknown. Eg - hemorrhaging during birth or getting an infection. Problems that make life uncomfortable, such as some level of incontinence in the longer term, are more common, but can mostly be managed by making sure you do your pelvic floor exercises!

Jacqueline Said:

Would universal health care lower the number of abortions in America?

We Answered:

it certainly would, because people would get better preventative health care and health education. and education of women is the number one thing related to lower abortion rates. put simply, women would get birth control, so they wouldn't use abortion for it.

Randy Said:

Will substance abuse throughout someone's lifetime effect the health of their children?

We Answered:

If the mother does not use during her pregnancy then the child should be fine physically. Bipolar disorder is genetic so the use of drugs by the parents will have no effect negative or positive on the development of Bipolar.

However...... parents who abuse drugs and alcohol do not make very good parents (parents who PREVIOUSLY used drugs and alcohol are a bit better). Children are neglected and often emotionally or physically abused... this can lead to the development of all sorts of disorders from personality disorders to anxiety disorders...... Bipolar and Schizophrenia are genetic so they will develop independent of home life. Any other mental health issue can be caused by environment.

Addiction is also an inherited trait...... parents can pass a tendancy to be an addict to their children. Doesn't mean that the children will automatically be addicts but it means that they will be more likely to be addicts than the standard population.

Jay Said:

I am looking for statistics related to crime and mental health trends in families?

We Answered:

According to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) in 2005, 477,040 victims of violent crimes stated that they faced an offender with a firearm.


Incidents involving a firearm represented 9% of the 4.7 million violent crimes of rape and sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated and simple assault in 2005.


The FBI's Crime in the United States estimated that 66% of the 16,137 murders in 2004 were committed with firearms.

Patrick Said:

How 'bout they tax Big Macs and Triple Stacks to pay for children's health insurance?

We Answered:

Completely unnecessary! We could, instead, take all of the money (more than 5 billion annually) that we give to Israel (3rd richest nation on earth by most accounts) and spend it on fighting poverty domestically and more families could pay for their own healthcare... (not that i'm completely opposed to universal health care for CHILDREN). Adults need to get educated, get jobs, and be productive.
Perhaps we can take some of the billions we spend propping up the Saudi government as well and direct them internally to further developing and educating our poor. Let's enable them not give them handouts! GIVE them food they eat for a week, TEACH them to grow they eat for a lifetime. Health care is yet another example of how our failing approach to education and domestic investment is harming our great country!

Sally Said:

Statistics on child abuse, Did you know?

We Answered:

I personally feel anyone who abuses a child, man or woman, should be punished by law. I don't know why statistics are even important. The money for such studies could be better spent on programs for abused children.