The Overlooked Crisis: Saving Mothers by Checking Blood Pressure After Birth

Maternal deaths don’t end when the baby is born—and most could be prevented with a simple cuff and five minutes of care. The Safety Ledger — Notes on accountability, error, and what it really takes...

The first six weeks after birth—what obstetricians call the “fourth trimester”—are the deadliest for American mothers. Nearly half of all maternal deaths now occur after delivery, often silently, in bedrooms and living rooms rather than hospitals.

Many new mothers are so focused on their newborns that they forget their own bodies are still recovering, s…