Raising Global Awareness:The Quest for Safer Childbirth in High

Risk Countries

Presented byJennifer Moller BSN, RNC

Learning Objectives

• Present statistics on maternal mortality in the developing and underdeveloped world.

• Identify the major causes of maternal mortality.• Examine the barriers to safe childbirth and prenatal

care.• Discuss the causes, impact and incidence of obstetric

fistula.• Introduce the Millenium Development Goals (MDG’s)

and The Mother’s Index.• Present a documentary film which chronicles a journey

undertaken by a physician who experiences firsthand the perils of childbirth in Afghanistan.

“Each year, more than 500,000 women die from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.” - UNICEF

Sobering statistics……

Maternal Mortality Rates (MMR) Worldwide

According to the United Nations, a woman's chance of dying in childbirth in the United States is 1 in 4,800. In Ireland, which

has the best rate in the world, it is 1 in 48,000.

“One in eight women die in childbirth in Sierra Leone, the highest mortality rate in the world.”

Spotlight: Sierra Leone

Spotlight: Afghanistan

“Only 14 percent of births are attended in Afghanistan. One in nine women will die during childbirth or shortly after. Nearly all

Afghan mothers will experience the loss of one child before its 5th birthday.“ - UNICEF

“A girl in southern Sudan is more likely to die in childbirth than she is to gain a primary education.” – Nicholas Kristoff, NY Times, May 2010

Spotlight:Southern Sudan

“In Yemen, one in every three girls is married before the age of 18.”- UNICEF

On September 13th, 12-year old Fawziya Abdullah Youssef died of severe bleeding while giving birth to a still-borne baby in Yemen. – CNN, September 14, 2009

Spotlight:Yemen

Child bride dies of internal bleeding in YemenSANAAThu Apr 8, 2010 3:18pm EDTSANAA (Reuters) - A 13-year-old Yemeni girl died three days after marrying a man twice her age, due to internal bleeding following intercourse, a Yemeni human rights group and UNICEF said.

Spotlight:Bangladesh

In rural Bangladesh, 69 percent of females are married before the age of 18, many of whom are married at 12 or 13. 21,000 women die annually during childbirth because only 13% of births have skilled

attendance.

Causes of Maternal Death in the Developing World

Barriers to Safe Prenatal Care and Childbirth

• Geography

• Lack of Resources

• Lack of Education

• Status of Women

• Cultural/Religious Beliefs

• Political Instability

Impact

• Increased infant mortality• Perpetuation of female

oppression• Altered collective female

psyche

• Dysfunctional family dynamics

• Loss of family revenue• Increased population of orphans• Physical disabilities

i.e. Obstetric Fistula

“Millenium Development Goals”UNDP 2000

• MDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.

• MDG 2: Achieve universal primary education.

• MDG 3: Promote gender equality and empower women.

• MDG 4: Reduce child mortality.

• MDG 5: Improve maternal health.

• MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

• MDG 7: Ensure environmental sustainability.

• MDG 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development.

Bottom 10- worst places to be a mother151. Equatorial Guinea152. Eritrea153. Sudan154. Mali155. DR Congo156. Yemen157. Guinea-Bissou158. Chad159. Niger160. Afghanistan

Top 10- best places to be a mother1.Norway2.Australia3.Iceland4.Sweden5.Denmark6.New Zealand7.Finland8.Netherlands9.Belgium10.Germany28. United States

The Mother’s Index

Save the Children, 2010

How Can We Help?

International Level• Follow the G8 Summit this

June.• Follow the United Nations

General Assembly meeting in September.

• Support a global action plan which is committed to accelerating progress on MDG’s 3, 4, and 5.

• Join a campaign that supports women and children.

National Level• Support the national health

care policy.• Make a commitment to

becoming more politically aware.

• Join the ANA and CNA as well as your national affiliation.

• Pursue all forms of continuing education.

Paying the ultimate price…..

What the world needs…

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