内容摘要：Still others favor modern art. In Olhao, Portugal, David Pimentel and Arren Williams created Casa Cubista, named for the town’s Cubist-style buildings. The buzzy brand has handmade plates with bold swaths of glaze, colored dips and graphic abstracts.

Still others favor modern art. In Olhao, Portugal, David Pimentel and Arren Williams created Casa Cubista, named for the town’s Cubist-style buildings. The buzzy brand has handmade plates with bold swaths of glaze, colored dips and graphic abstracts.

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 and 32% in the U.S.Midwife Celena Brown examines Kayleigh Sturrup during a pregnancy checkup. Midwives at Commonsense Childbirth are striving to provide good, accessible care. Experts cite the nonprofit, started by an immigrant from the U.K., Jennie Joseph, as model for helping reduce maternal mortality. Tuesday, June 25, 2024 (AP Photo/Laura Ungar)

Midwife Celena Brown examines Kayleigh Sturrup during a pregnancy checkup. Midwives at Commonsense Childbirth are striving to provide good, accessible care. Experts cite the nonprofit, started by an immigrant from the U.K., Jennie Joseph, as model for helping reduce maternal mortality. Tuesday, June 25, 2024 (AP Photo/Laura Ungar)The Scandinavian country and many other European nations also have generous paid leave, which research links to better postpartum health. Norway mandatesbetween maternity, parental and home care leave. The U.S. requires none.

Virginia Kotzias, who grew up in the U.S. but now lives in Norway, suffered two first-trimester miscarriages. She had the option to stay in the hospital, which she chose to do the first time because she was scared.“For the entire 13 hours that I was going through the process of the miscarriage, I had midwives that were there on call,” Kotzias said. “I had access to pain medication. And then when I walked out, there was no bill.”

For her two full-term pregnancies, she could have prenatal visits with a doctor, a midwife or both. She had additional regular appointments with a high-risk OB-GYN because of a chronic health condition, and said she “felt very well cared for.”

Kotzias was also able to take “graded” sick leave when she felt nauseous and tired, working 80% of the time, with a national benefits program paying the balance of her salary. A few days after her babies were born, midwives visited her home to assess her for any physical or mental postpartum issues and check on the infant.“I think in many respects dealing with racism, addressing racism responsibly, is kind of like painting the Golden Gate Bridge, right?” he said. “As soon as you think you’re done, you’re not. You have to go back and start painting again.”

This story is part of an AP ongoing series exploring theof what is widely called the

, which was sparked a decade ago by the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by police in Ferguson, Missouri.The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.