内容摘要：Looney donated a kidney to her mother in 1999. Later pregnancy complications caused high blood pressure that damaged her remaining kidney, which eventually failed. It’s incredibly rare for living donors to develop kidney failure although those who do are given extra priority on the transplant list.

Looney donated a kidney to her mother in 1999. Later pregnancy complications caused high blood pressure that damaged her remaining kidney, which eventually failed. It’s incredibly rare for living donors to develop kidney failure although those who do are given extra priority on the transplant list.

Regular care means problems are spotted and treated early, said Roosa Sofia Tikkanen, a doctoral candidate at the Center for Global Health Inequalities Research in Norway.“Maternal mortality is an entirely preventable event providing you have access to basic health care,” Tikkanen said. “Not high-tech health care but basic health care.”

What happens during and after delivery also makes a difference. The national rate for cesarean sections, which are more likely than vaginal births to lead to complications, is about 16% in Norway compared to 32% in the U.S. The Scandinavian country also mandates generous paid leave, which research links to better postpartum health.Commonsense Childbirth, which has locations in Orlando and Winter Garden, Florida, offers a small-scale model of European care. It has clinics, a birthing center and training for health professionals.The midwives who run the program welcome vulnerable patients that other practices turn away, such as those who are uninsured or haven’t had prenatal care until late in pregnancy.

Founded by British immigrant Jennie Joseph about 26 years ago, it has never had a maternal death.“We have these four tenets that go with my model: access, connection, knowledge and empowerment,” she said. Some patients “cry because they’ve never had that kind of care or respect.”

Joseph’s organization relies heavily on philanthropy, which makes up about half its $3.5 million budget. This allows the clinics to accept patients who can pay little or nothing.

For women with no major health problems, research shows midwifery is cheaper globally than care led by OB-GYNs and leads to fewer medical procedures like C-sections, said Marian Knight, a professor of maternal and child population health at the University of Oxford in England.Harvey, 76, has pursued a long career at the Vatican, initially as a diplomat and more recently as manager of the papal household. Born in Milwaukee, he studied at seminary there before completing his formation in Rome. He was ordained by Pope Paul VI in Rome in 1975 and entered the Holy See’s diplomatic service in 1980. John Paul II appointed Harvey prefect of the Papal Household in 1998, managing the pope’s official activities. Benedict made him a cardinal in 2012.

Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego speaks during a news conference, Feb. 27, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego speaks during a news conference, Feb. 27, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

Francis named McElroyin January, tapping one of his most progressive allies to head the Catholic Church in the U.S. capital at the start of President Donald Trump’s second term. McElroy criticized Trump’s threats of mass deportations of immigrants as “incompatible with Catholic doctrine.” Francis appointed McElroy bishop of San Diego in 2015 and