tl;dr: obesity ("hypertension")
but why stop at maternal deaths? obesity is driving premature death rates in every category
this is a national crisis but no one wants to say it out loud because someone's feelings will be hurt
The Obamas, and Michelle Obama specifically, addressed it directly (14 years ago):
But I guess none of the complicating factors make for as good of a straw man for the inane point you’d like to use these women’s suffering to prove.
But a proper healthcare system should absolutely be discussing obesity with women who intend to get pregnant at least, just as it should be discussing it with people who want to have surgery requiring general anaesthesia, with people who have mobility issues or knee/hip problems, etc.; if not more generally even outside of the context of immediate interventions.
Because it makes difficult, traumatic and bad health situations worse. Giving birth is routinely the first two of those things.
There is a positive-discrimination aspect here, though: yes, obesity complicates the health of older people, is raising mortality rates across the board. But society doesn't want women to die in childbirth anymore, and that makes this targeted intervention re: obesity a proper thing to do.
But if you read the other comments here, you see people arguing about Roe v. Wade, racism, statistical errors, covid vaccines, etc.
When the whole time the answer is just right there, the hippo in the room if you will lol. Anything to avoid personal responsibility I guess.
Something can be caused by obesity without the primary “blame” being personal responsibility. If Americans are more obese than Scandinavians, is it because there just happen to be more individuals in the US who lack personal responsibility?
Societal problems are a result of societal sickness. We should aim at the root societal causes rather than attribute personal moral failings to the individuals who are a product of that society.