I lived for a time in Malawi so the news caught my eye.
Malawi has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world: 6,000 women a year die during pregnancy or childbirth. Approximately 30% of 15 to 19 year olds already have a child and many have unsafe abortions. The plan is to instigate a system of care, to be know as a Road Map, right through from contraception to pregnancy, childbirth and post-delivery. This initiative is backed by the UN and has been runas a pilot scheme in some areas.
Incidentally, from AllAfrica.com, one of the papers presented at a a workshop says that 80% of women needing treatment for unsafe abortions in Nigeria are adolescents.
A.,
ReplyDeleteI think we forget sometimes how truly dangerous pregnancy and childbirth are for women. Just the other day, a local radio station was in a day of mourning for one of their young (23) DJs, who had delivered a healthy baby, but subsequently died of 'complications from childbirth'. I can't begin to tell you how shocked I was. And she had access to good health care.
You're right it is very shocking when you hear of a woman dying in childbirth. It's just not part of the picture in the developed world any more. By all accounts the maternity services in the UK are in a critical state and maternal deaths are rising.
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