Databank. Deaths during pregnancy

Citation

(1999), "Databank. Deaths during pregnancy", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 99 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/nfs.1999.01799daf.013

Databank. Deaths during pregnancy

Databank

Deaths during pregnancy

Every minute one woman dies in the world because she is pregnant or during childbirth. A total of 99 per cent of these 600,000 deaths occur in the Third World and is the equivalent of a Titanic of pregnant women sinking every day. The United Nations Children’s Fund is calling for the UK public to help end these tragedies by making donations. As a result of these deaths, one million children will be left motherless and are themselves up to three or ten times more likely to die within the next two years than children living with both parents. In Africa the maternal death rate is 980 per 100,000 live births, a lifetime risk of dying in pregnancy of one in 16. In the UK it is 12.2 deaths per 100,000 live births down from of figure of over 550 in 1930. Poor maternal health leads to the deaths of nearly 3 million infants (1.4 stillborn and 1.5 million in the first week of life) and contributes to low birth weight in 20 million babies a year. The solution lies not in expensive technical advances but in providing basic essential health care for women before, during and after their pregnancies. Women need trained staff at the time of delivery. When potential complications are likely, women need transport available so they can get to hospital in time. As little as £1 will buy a clean birth kit – a simple packet containing soap, plastic sheet, umbilical tape, razor blade for cutting the cord and a pictorial leaflet for a trained attendant to use for a hygienic home delivery.