• Maternal mortality: the women who die during their pregnancy for reasons related to maternal health or women who die because of complications occurred during child birth (such as severe bleeding, infections, or unsafe abortion.) Many women also stay stigmatized by birth related illnesses such as fistula. (WHO 2008a)
• Child mortality: the children who die under the age of five. In order to have good chances to live a child would need a quality care during pregnancy and birth. After the birth the crucial things for children´s survival are sanitation, potable water and nutrition. (WTO 2008b)
The key fact in maternal and child mortality is not the diarrhea, AIDS or the under qualified health personnel. The key is the importance that the societies give to women and children to their survival. The key is that the societies will decide that saving women´s lives is beneficial enough and by that saving women´s lives also millions of children´s lives will be saved. Some specialists of the public health field state that, if as many men (as women) would die each year for easily avoided causes, the societies and the field of international development cooperation would make much more actions and put much more money in order to solve this injustice. Around 99% of the deaths of women dying giving birth occurred in developing countries (and most of them in Africa). In 2005 WTO estimated that 536 000 women died during pregnancy or giving birth. While child mortality has dropped during the last years the estimation of women dying for pregnancy or child birth has been the same almost for 30 years. (Nicholas D. Kristoff & Sheryl WuDunn 2010)
Mother and Child. Picture by: Bixby center, University of California. |
In 2008 8.8 million children born alive died before their fifth birthday. Most of the children die for illnesses that could easily be prevented by good care, suitable living conditions and proper care. Mainly the reason for under-five deaths is poverty; the families cannot simply afford medicine, healthcare and proper alimentation. The gap in maternal and child mortality is huge between the rich and the poor countries. Some estimations state that 75% of the under-five deaths occurred only in 18 countries, among them India, Nigeria, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan and China. (Childinfo 2008a) Some of the countries in the list have suffered or still suffer from ongoing armed conflicts which do not favor child protection. (WTO 2008c)
Some of the main reasons for maternal and child mortality in developing countries:
• The lack of basic education and gender equality. As it was discussed in our last task; too many girls don´t have access to education or they are not allowed to attend school. Education as also very much linked to health issues and to the number of children women want to have. Lack of gender equality on the other hand also does not allow the women´s voice to be heard in some societies and people justify this inequality by tradition or cultural reasons. But can deaths really be justified by tradition?
• Lack of access to quality health care and the lack of skilled health personnel, especially in the rural areas. Many of the pregnant women in rural areas in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia don´t get medical care during their pregnancy and or maternal education. This means lower chances for the mother´s and child´s survival.
• HIV/AIDS is also an important factor, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most of the children living with HIV are infected by mother-to-child transmission and more than half of them die before their second birthday. (WHO 2008b) If HIV positive women don´t get appropriate health care and maternal education during their pregnancy the risk of infecting your child is much bigger. (WHO 2008a)
• Water, alimentation, environment and sanitation can cause illnesses that influence especially on child health. Most of the under-five deaths are caused by easily prevented illnesses such as pneumonia, diarrhea, malnutrition, malaria and measles. These illnesses could easily be avoided by proper care and good living condition, only that many families in developing countries living in poverty cannot afford proper care for their children. (WTO 2008b)
• Girls get married too young. Also one of the reasons for high maternal mortality in Africa can also be the fact that many girls have to get married before their body is ready for pregnancy and child birth. Young wives and pregnant girls suffer more child birth related complications and die more often giving birth then adult women. (Nicholas D. Kristoff & Sheryl WuDunn 2010)
Some countries have put emphasis on the maternal and child health and have received good results. One of these countries is Sri Lanka that has managed to make a crucial change in the maternal mortality rates since 1935. Also Nepal has had very good results by giving vitamin-A to pregnant women. Vitamin-A lowered the risk of undernourished women to suffer for infections during their pregnancy. Also iodine has been shown to have an important role in the development of fetus, and in some developing countries the pregnant women have been given iodine during their pregnancy. These examples only show that sometimes the means can be often quite simple and cheap. (Nicholas D. Kristoff & Sheryl WuDunn 2010) Nevertheless, these examples don´t mean that access to education, good health care and fighting poverty would not be the most important steps in improving maternal and child health
As the UN states in one of their videos: “Maternal and child health is a question of priorities”. These priorities should start to be given right now. The lives of women and children are essential.
Sources:
- Childinfo 2008a. Monitoring the situation of children and women. UNICEF - Statistics by area / Child Survival and Health
- Statistics by area / Maternal Healt. URL: http://www.childinfo.org/maternal_mortality.html
- Statistics by area / Child Survival and Health. URL: http://www.childinfo.org/mortality_challenge.html
- Statistics by area / Child Survival and Health. URL: http://www.childinfo.org/mortality_challenge.html
- UNICEF 2008. Why are millions of children and women dying? URL: http://www.unicef.org/health/index_problem.html
- WHO 2008b. 10 Facts on child health. URL: http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/child_health2/photo_story/en/index.html
- WHO 2008a. 10 Facts on maternal health. URL: http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/maternal_health/maternal_health_facts/en/index.html
- WHO 2008. 10 Facts about women's health. URL: http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/women_health/en/index.html
- WHO 2008c. What are the key health dangers for children? URL: http://www.who.int/features/qa/13/en/index.html
- Nicholas D. Kristoff & Sheryl WuDunn 2010, Puolikas Taivasta. Otavan kirjapaino Oy, (Julkaistu yhteistyossa Suomen UNIFEMin kanssa).
Picture:
- Bixby center, University of California, Berkeley. URL: http://bixby.berkeley.edu/research/maternal-health/
Hello Chascona,
VastaaPoistaFirst you made a definition of maternal and child mortality. I think, both is connected, because if the mother get no care between the pregnancy and help during the birth, one the one hand the mother has no good chances to survive (if there are complications and nobody can help, no clean water which promote infections), but also the child need a good clinical and medical care. If there is no physician then the child start in the life can be dangers. But also, if the child will survive: if there is no knowledge and education for the mothers what to do if the child has signs of illness then it is again difficult.
In my opinion, if the mother is healthy and get good medical care, then her child will have a higher chance to survive, too.
Kind regards,
Brinii
Hello chascona,
VastaaPoistaYou have written many good points to your blog. Especially I liked the way you emphasized the importance of women and children. I wrote kind of similar things in my own blog when I referred to Kishwar Desai and her writings how baby girls are still killed in India. These are very complex cultural things and the attitudes are so deep in the society that they are not easy to solve.
Last week we talked also the education of boys. I was just few days ago listening of a member of women's organization from Afghanistan was telling their work there and it came quite clear that those women who had educated men could fight for womens' rights too. Their husbands approved their efforts. So here too the education for boys and to have they understand the importance of women could be the way to improve things.