Global Health

December 1st is World AIDS Day. Follow this link to learn more about what you can do for World AIDS Day.

What I wanted to write about today is the issue of Maternal Survival. In developing countries there is an issue of mothers and children not surviving pregnancy, childbirth or even the first few weeks of life. There are many issues that these mothers have to deal with that women in developed countries may take for granted. Hemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal mortality. An effective intervention that reduces mortality is the active management of the third stage of labor. This is when the placenta is delivered and the breaking of the blood vessels causes bleeding. If the bleeding is uncontrolled a woman could bleed to death. The following is a list of common problems encountered in the developing world:

The saddest part for me is the fact that we have the knowledge and the technology to prevent many of these problems. Women and children are dying when we have the knowledge to save them. One of the biggest impacts is simply education. Mothers need to be educated on what to look for when they are pregnant. Midwives, doctors and other healthprofessionals need to be educated and trained the techniques that will save the lives of those they take care of. I believe that it would be relatively easy to fix these problems. The interventions are inexpensive and effective. The barriers are the funding of the interventions and the involvement of politicians who so often determine the efficacy of programs. By working with governments and getting strong funding these programs can be effective in improving maternal survival.