My sister is pregnant. I know, I've told you - but I am so excited. Recently she had what she referred to as "another baby growth spurt."



Wow. She's not due until the end of March.

As a comparison, here she is in October 2006.

Maternal Mortality is determined as a pregnancy related death when pregnant or within 42 days of termination of the pregnancy.
An estimated 529,000 women die annually from maternal causes. For each woman who dies approximately 20 suffer injury, infection or disibilty.

So that is... 10 million women affected each year?

Most often women die because of post partum hemorrage, but along with that, sepsis, abortion related complications, obstructed labor (the same kind that causes Obstetric Fitsula), and even hypertansive disorders related with pregnancy.

Death could be prevented if obstetric care and equipment were available so that a C-section could be preferomed, or a hemorrage stopped.

Women at a higher risk have stunted height from malnutrition in childhood, are Anemic, or have undergone female genital mutilation. The same factors affect the survival rate of the child, resulting in an estimated 8 million infant deaths each year.


www.safemotherhood.org, "Maternal Mortality"

According to Reproline, Every Minute:

380 women become pregnant
190 women face unplanned or unwanted pregnancy
110 women experience a pregnancy related complication
40 women will have an unsafe abortion
1 woman will die from a pregnancy-related complication.

According to www.UNFPA.org, a woman living in sun-saharan Africa has a 1 in 16 chance of dying in childbirth or pregnancy. A woman in a developed nation's chance of mortality is only 1 in 2,800. Of those previously mentioned 529,000 deaths annually, 95% of those were in Africa and Asia.

UNFPA.org's suggestions for progress in reducing maternal mortality:

Meeting the existing demand for family planning services would reduce maternal deaths and injuries by 20 per cent or more.

According to reproductive health benchmark set by the ICPD+ 5, by 2005, at least 40 per cent of births should be assisted by skilled birth attendants where maternal mortality is very high, and 80 per cent globally.

Targets for the percentage of assisted births have been set at 50 and 85 per cent, respectively, by 2010, and 60 and 90 per cent by 2015.

Evidence shows that maternal mortality can be reduced without first achieving high levels of economic development. In fact, maternal mortality itself constrains economic development, because of its severe impact on the lives of young children, the family and society in general.