Many women lack quality medical care before, during and after childbirth. Recently The World Health Organization has published ten facts about maternal health in the world, figures and notes necessary to not forget the needs of many women and how easy it would be to cover them in many cases.
In 2010, approximately 287,000 women died due to complications related to pregnancy or childbirth. In most cases there are well-known medical interventions that could prevent those deaths. But maternal health continues to suffer in many parts of the world.
The Millennium Development Goal 5 is to improve maternal health, and the goals are to reduce the maternal mortality ratio by three quarters between 1990 and 2015 and achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health.
But as in the case of infant mortality we mentioned yesterday, the progress made so far in reducing maternal mortality has been too slow for the goals to be achieved within the expected time frame.
For reduce maternal mortality In developing countries, investment in health systems is essential, especially in the training of midwives and in emergency obstetric care available 24 hours a day.
Organizations such as UNICEF and WHO warn of the still high maternal mortality by supporting countries to provide quality care, based on proven and effective data, to mothers and children during pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium.
Ten facts about maternal health in the world
The data referred to by WHO are often commented on the blog, because we do not want to reduce our gaze to the immediate environment of our lives and our countries, but we want to go further, without forgetting other realities, however hard These are (or precisely because of that).
In order to give them visibility, because we consider them to be hidden or forgotten figures, we spread them here. Because it might make us reflect on a hard and sad reality that could change.
Every day 800 women die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth, which means up to 287,000 deaths a year. In developing countries, disorders related to pregnancy and childbirth are the second leading cause of death for women of childbearing age (after HIV / AIDS).
Four main causes are responsible for maternal deaths: severe bleeding, infections, dangerous abortions, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (preeclampsia and eclampsia) and obstructed labor. An unattended puerperal hemorrhage in a healthy woman can kill her in two hours. Almost all of these deaths are preventable.
Each year there are more than 136 million deliveries, of which about 20 million have subsequent complications related to pregnancy. The list of diseases is long and diverse; for example, fever, anemia, fistulas, incontinence, sterility and depression. Often women who have obstetric fistulas are stigmatized and marginalized by their husbands, families and communities.
Each year there are approximately 16 million deliveries in girls aged 15 to 19 years (more than 10% of all births). In the developing world, about 90% of adolescent deliveries take place in marriage. In low- and middle-income countries, complications of pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death among girls aged 15 to 19.
Maternal health status reflects the differences between rich and poor. Of all maternal deaths, less than 1% corresponds to high-income countries. Average, the risk of death throughout life due to complications of pregnancy and childbirth It is 1 in 150 in developing countries and 1 in 3800 in developed countries. Maternal mortality is also higher in rural areas and in the poorest communities with the lowest educational level. Of the 800 maternal deaths that occur every day, 440 correspond to sub-Saharan Africa, 230 to South Asia and 5 to high-income countries.
Most maternal deaths can be avoided with specialized delivery care and access to emergency obstetric care. In sub-Saharan Africa, where the highest maternal mortality ratios are recorded, less than 50% of women are cared for by qualified personnel (midwives, nurses or doctors).
In developing countries, the percentage of women who attend a minimum of four prenatal consultations during pregnancy ranges from 56% for women in rural areas and 72% for those in urban areas. Women who do not receive the necessary controls lose the opportunity to detect problems and receive appropriate care and treatment, especially vaccines and prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV / AIDS.
In developing countries approximately 21 million dangerous abortions annuals that produce 47,000 maternal deaths. Many of these deaths could be avoided if there were information on family planning and contraceptives and the relevant measures were applied.
One of the goals of the Millennium Development Goals is the reduction of the maternal mortality ratio by three quarters between 1990 and 2015. The progress made so far has been slow. Since 1990, this indicator has only decreased by 3.1% annually instead of the 5.5% needed to meet MDG5, which aims to improve maternal health.
The main obstacle that prevents progress towards improving maternal health is the lack of specialized care, which is exacerbated by the global shortage of qualified health professionals.
As we see, the differences between the best and the worst countries to be born are abysmal (and unfair). Comparing to the data included here, we think that we are undoubtedly lucky to have been born and born in our country (although we have much to improve, much to claim and much to continue fighting, although at another level).
We hope that after reading these ten facts about maternal health in the world Let us be much more aware of the harsh reality of many developing countries and try from our position not to close our eyes before it, as should the politicians and authorities of each country and the world.
