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Report: 300,000 Die Worldwide in 2013 Childbirths

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Almost 300,000 women, primarily in developing countries, died from

complications related to pregnancy and childbirth in 2013 according to

a new report that blames the deaths on a lack of safe water,

sanitation and adequate hygiene.

A paper published in the journal PLOS Medicine reports that some 38

percent of healthcare facilities in 54 developing countries continue

to lack proper sanitation and a source of clean water, putting women

who give birth there at increased risk of death.

The article, written by a team of researchers from organizations

including WaterAid, the World Health Organization, the London School

of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UNICEF and the United Nations

Population Fund, estimates that 289,000 would-be mothers died from

unsanitary conditions, either at home or in healthcare facilities.

Despite 15 years of concerted global efforts to reduce maternal

mortality, the report notes it remains 14 times higher in poor

countries than developed regions.

Women in unsanitary and unsafe conditions face a high risk of

life-threatening infections, according to Oliver Cumming, an

environmental health expert at the London School of Hygiene and

Tropical Medicine.

He says the risk increases if pregnant women must walk a long distance

to obtain clean water or to use a bathroom facility.

“These things produce a range of effects that we don’t necessarily

understand but very clearly would bring levels of stress – physical

and psychosocial stress – which would pose a risk for the mothers and

for the babies,” said Cumming.

A companion article in PLOS One describes conditions in Tanzania,

where less than one-third of births occur in places with safe water

and basic sanitation. Nearly 8,000 women in the East African country

die each year, either while giving birth or immediately afterwards.

The United Nations’ eight Millennium Development Goals — which include

improving maternal health and reducing child mortality — are winding

down next year. To follow up on progress toward the MDGs, world

leaders are working the the U.N. to come up with Sustainable

Development Goals, which are expected to be adopted in September 2015.

Cumming and his co-authors say providing clean water and sanitation

should be at the top of the list of improvements in homes and

healthcare facilities in developing countries. He adds that the new

goals need to specifically include improved water quality and

sanitation as a stand-alone aim with an eye toward improving maternal

and newborn health.

“I think it’s a terrible tragedy that women still die during

childbirth as a result of the absence of these very basic things being

in place, particularly within heath facilitities,” he said.

On December 15, nine leading health organizations spearheaded by the

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine are issuing a call to

action for governments around the world to focus on better water

quality, sanitation and hygiene.

The aim is to make greater progress toward improving maternal and

neonatal health.

Credit: Jessica Berman

Kofi Oppong Kyekyeku

I am a Ghanaian Broadcast Journalist/Writer who has an interest in General News, Sports, Entertainment, Health, Lifestyle and many more.

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