Rural Women's Health The Focus of International Women's Day

While the World Health Organization and the Gates Foundation focus on the health issues of rural women in the developing world, no one is paying attention to health issues of rural women in the United States.

According to the Rural Assistance Center, rural women in the United States, particularly women in persistent poverty areas (including Northern Plains states), receive delayed prenatal care, or none at all.  Infant mortality rates in rural areas of the United States also remain higher than in metropolitan areas.  The odds for infant mortality increase when rural women are more likely to bear children before their 20th birthday, or after their 40th.  The prevalence of chronic illness and depression is also higher among rural women in the United States.

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has listed some recommendations to improve gynecological, prenatal, and obstetric care to rural women in the United States,