WUNRN
Women News Network
MATERNAL MORTALITY - AFRICA -
PREVENTION OF EXCESS BLEEDING +
Sally Chiwama – WNN Breaking
(WNN)
Speaking at the East, Central and Southern African
Association (ESCSAOGS) conference in
“Most countries have forgotten about this global
crisis,” Dr. Lalonde declared as he pointed to what he felt was to blame for
the failure. “Post Partum Hemorrhage (PPH) is a system failure by
governments, why are we letting women die unnecessarily?” Dr. Lalonde added.
Today many women are dying because they are being
asked to pay before they can receive assistance during childbirth as they try
to reach medical facilities or remote healthcare clinics. Even in the most
remote areas when women are suffering from extreme poverty without any
financial resources, they are often asked to go back home if they cannot pay
for medical assistance for reproductive healthcare.
Maternal mortality, the death of a woman who is
pregnant or who has delivered her child, can occur anytime during the months of
pregnancy or within 42 days following childbirth. PPH – Postpartum hemorrhage
is the deadly bleeding that sometimes follows delivery as the uterus fails to
contract back to its normal position.
To reduce the deaths of women from complications
occurring during or following childbirth, Dr. Joseph Karanja, chairperson for
ESCSAOGS, professor and consultant for the department of Obstetrics and
Gynaecology at University of Nairobi, has publicly encouraged more doctors,
medical personnel, pharmacies and midwives to openly provide the drug misoprostol
to women to help them reduce deaths from excessive bleeding 2-4 hours following
childbirth.
Even with its low cost and ease of use that allows
it to be administered orally and requires no refrigeration, misoprostol as a
‘drug-of-choice’ has been placed on the front lines of the abortion debate in
many regions of Africa. Advocates argue for its use in rural areas where women
cannot reach medical clinics saying it is “essential to saving lives.” Those
against its use say the drug has a history of use for abortion.
Early 2001
trials in the
In a recognised May 2011 triumph, the World Health
Organization (WHO) added misoprostol to its List
of Essential Medicines for the prevention of PPH and to prevent the dangers
of incomplete abortion. The recommendation has come on the culmination of years
of research and advocacy.
“Bleeding after childbirth (postpartum
haemorrhage) is an important cause of maternal mortality, accounting for nearly
one quarter of all maternal deaths worldwide,” says the WHO.
With less than five years left until the deadline
for the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDG),
The critical use of misoprostol may be the best
and most accessible answer to reduce deaths. “Misoprostol tablets offer a safe,
effective, affordable and easy-to-use solution to women,” says Dr. Karanja.
Although there has been a decrease in maternal
mortality ratios much still needs to be done as women continue to die unnecessarily
especially those in remote areas. “The known success factors are the presence
of trained midwives at births, and rural feeder roads and transport that get
pregnant women to health clinics on time,” says the 2011 UNDP Zambia MDG
Factsheet.
A woman with an obstetric emergency in a rural
area may find the closest facility is not properly equipped. Some clinics work
mainly as classrooms for regional health education or as a clinic for basic
treatments. Many rural women may have no way to reach a more equipped regional
center where proper medical resources do exist.
Distances to medical facilities for many rural
women in
Other problems that include shortages of qualified
staff, essential drugs and supplies, coupled with administrative delays and
clinical mismanagement, have become documentable contributors to maternal
deaths.
“According to the latest UN official figures, more
than 500,000 women die every year from pregnancy-related causes. This means one
death every minute,” said Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights at a high level meeting at UN Geneva June 2010. “Meanwhile approximately
10 million women annually suffer pregnancy-related injuries and disabilities,”
continued Pillay.
“The known success factors (to slow maternal
mortality) are the presence of trained midwives at births, and rural feeder
roads and transport that get pregnant women to health clinics on time,” says
the UNDP.