澳门六合彩

Since 1987, the number of women dying during pregnancy and delivery has dropped by聽, saving hundreds of thousands of women鈥檚 lives鈥攁nd changing the lives of their families鈥攁round the world. 鈥淥ur achievement in making maternal mortality an injustice that needs to be recognized by health ministers, by heads of state, by heads of agencies, has been, I think, the single greatest achievement of the聽鈥� since it聽, said聽, President and CEO of Guttmacher Institute, at a Wilson Center聽event聽marking the anniversary of this important effort.

Yet the work is not done: 鈥淓very day, 800 women die; [there are] 7,100 stillbirths, and 7,000 newborns die,鈥� said researcher聽, one of the early pioneers of the movement. 鈥淭wenty years in Africa have shown me so many maternal deaths,鈥� she said. 鈥淲omen shouldn鈥檛 die giving life. Women are not pregnant nine months to have a stillbirth at the end.鈥�

The Birth of Safe Motherhood

鈥淭he genesis of safe motherhood was a birth process in itself,鈥� said Kwast. Since the 1987聽聽that launched the movement, 鈥渨e鈥檝e seen tremendous evolution in the issue of maternal health, in the language that we use to talk about it,鈥� said聽Starrs. 鈥淚t鈥檚 striking how mainstream, how integrated the issue of maternal health is now鈥�; today, it is 鈥渁n issue of human rights, equity, and social justice.鈥�

Once neglected by the global health community, maternal health has become a prominent part of the international development agenda and included in the聽聽and the聽. But even with this global attention, USAID Senior Maternal Health Advisor聽Mary Ellen Stanton聽cautioned, 鈥渢he changing landscape will profoundly affect what happens in countries and what we can do. Maintaining momentum is not going to be enough. We are going to need to do more.鈥�

Meeting the Challenge: Midwives and Family Planning

Even though the maternal mortality rate has recently increased in the聽, 99 percent of maternal deaths still happen in developing countries. 鈥淚n sub-Saharan Africa, the risk of a woman dying due to pregnancy-related issues is 100 times the risk in the U.S.,鈥� said Stanton. There are some success stories; for example, both Malawi and Ethiopia have cut their country鈥檚 maternal mortality rates by half. But as聽, Vice Chancellor at Malawi University of Science and Technology, said about Malawi, 鈥渋t is now 439 [deaths per 100,000]. Can we really celebrate? I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 good enough.鈥�

The shortage of highly聽聽in sub-Saharan Africa is a major challenge. In Ethiopia, for example, only 28 percent of women deliver with a skilled birth attendant. 鈥淟et鈥檚 invest in midwifery education, build more schools, properly educate teachers,鈥� said Malata. And the investment needs to come not just from governments, but also the聽, said Etiebet.

Access to contraception is also critical to preventing maternal mortality because 鈥渨ithout pregnancy, there would be no maternal death,鈥� said UNFPA Midwife Advisor聽. More than聽聽still have an unmet need to modern contraception, and women in remote areas of developing countries can spend days traveling to district health facilities, only to find their preferred method of contraception is unavailable. 鈥淭hink about what impact that is having on their behavior, on their decision making,鈥� said聽, Executive Director of Merck for Mothers.聽

鈥淧olitical leaders must have multi-sectoral approaches to maternal health鈥� in order to meet these diverse challenges that block progress on reducing maternal mortality, said White Ribbon Alliance CEO聽. 鈥淧olitical will and聽聽can change the game,鈥� added Malata.

The Faces Behind the Numbers

Maternal mortality 鈥渋s a measureable indicator of the lack of value placed on women鈥檚 lives,鈥� said McCallon. 鈥淲e must work for the right for all to be treated with聽.鈥�

To improve maternal health, care must not only be respectful, it must be women-centered. 鈥淚t鈥檚 midwives, it鈥檚 our nurses, it鈥檚 our doctors, it鈥檚 our families that are taking care of women鈥攁nd unless we invite them in and we listen to them鈥nd their input is integrated into solutions, we鈥檙e not going to hit our goals,鈥� said Etiebet.

But the 308,000 women dying each year due to complications in pregnancy and delivery are not simply data points. 鈥淲hen you have looked into the panic-stricken eyes of a woman dying on the labor ward floor,鈥� said Kwast, 鈥渢hen behind these numbers, there are faces.鈥�

Sources:聽British Medical Bulletin, Guttmacher Institute, Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST), Merck for Mothers, New York Times, White Ribbon Alliance, World Health Organization (WHO)

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Written by Sarah Barnes and edited by Meaghan Parker