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An essay on maternal mortality
List the etiological factors to maternal mortality
Economically disadvantaged women access to prenatal care
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Maternal mortality is, as defined by the World Health Organization, “The death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and the site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management, but not from accidental or incidental causes.” (Wikipedia, 1) There are three main types of deaths that occur in maternal mortality: direct deaths, indirect deaths and late deaths. Direct deaths are complications that are obstetric during pregnancy or labor; this includes death due to medication. Indirect deaths are associated with diseases, illnesses or disorders that are heighten by the pregnancy. Late deaths are deaths that occur within 42 days after the end of a pregnancy. Maternal mortality is an issue that at first glance will instantly make any individual equate the problem with the Third World countries. This instant association is made by the assumption that death of mothers during and after birth in Third World countries is higher. Albeit true, this assumption is made on the ignorance of ste...
high death rates. For instance, many mothers would die while giving birth leaving the father to
-Nara’s Buddhist temples were another result of cultural diffusion, Buddhist began in India in 500s B.C.E. about 1,000 years later, it came to Japan from China by way of Korea.
Infant mortality is considered a worldwide indicator of a nation’s health status. The United States still ranks 24th in infant mortality compared with other industrialized nations, even though infant mortality has declined steadily over the past several decades. Compared with the national average in 1996 of 7.2 deaths per 1,000 live births, the largest disparity is among blacks with a death rate of 14.2 per 1,000 in 1996 which is almost 2½ times that of white infants (6 deaths per 1,000 in 1996). American Indians as a whole have an infant death rate of 9 deaths per 1,000 in 1995, but some Indian communities have an infant mortality rate almost twice that of the national rate. The same applies to the Hispanic community, whose rate of 7.6 deaths per 1,000 births in 1995 doesn’t reflect the Puerto Rican community, whose rate was 8.9 deaths per 1,000 births in 1995.
Two-thirds of infants die during the first month of life due to low birth weight (Lia-Hoagberg et al, 1990). One reason for this outcome is primarily due to difficulties in accessing prenatal care. Prenatal health care encompasses the health of women in both pre and post childbearing years and provides the support for a healthy lifestyle for the mother and fetus and/or infant. This form of care plays an important role in the prevention of poor birth outcomes, such as prematurity, low birth weight and infant mortality, where education, risk assessment, treatment of complications, and monitoring of fetus development are vital (McKenzie, Pinger,& Kotecki, 2012). Although every woman is recommended to receive prenatal health care, low-income and disadvantaged minority women do not seek care due to structural and individual barriers.
As mention earlier that a Jennifer Deane was brave enough to speak out the truth of what she did during pregnancy. Jennifer told the class that she smoked a cigarette before going to check for her fetus (personal communication, March 28, 2016). As I mentioned about the risks of smoking earlier, in my Drugs and Behavior class, the professor also lecture us about the consequences of smoking and drinking alcohol while pregnant. In my Medical Sociology class, we watched a documentary on pregnant women in Africa, called Dead Mums Don’t Cry. This documentary was remarkable because it compared and contrasted the different point between Africa and the United Kingdom. As the reporter, Steve Bradshaw, stated in the documentary that many women died during their pregnancy because most of them were under age, but most of all it was because of the undeveloped medical materials that even the uncritical situations cannot be treated (Bradshaw & Quinn, 2005). Unlike in the film or the documentary where women can have C-section whenever the situation is critical, women in Africa cannot have that because often time they live far away and the hospital has limited
no power over you? Ah, poor me. But seriously now, I really think you should, for your own sake” (814). Hedda then steals his unpublished piece, and burns it, which results in Eilert telling his lover, Thea, a woman whom Hedda abhors, that he himself burnt it rather than admit to his failure. Soon after this contrived breakup, Hedda commits a worse crime and convinces Eilert Lovborg to take his own life, handing him one of her own pistols, telling him, “Here you use it now…in beauty Eilert Lovborg. Promise me that” (827).
Statistics show the impact that preemies are causing as the rate of preterm birth increases every day. Any part of the world is affected no matter how advanced they are in technology. “One of every eight infants born in the United States is premature babies” (Medline Plus). These statistics are extremely high, however people can change it by getting involved in the community and helping preemies have a less chance to lose in their battle for life. In 2003; 499,008 infants were born prematurely (National Center for Health Statistics). The rates of preterm births have increased over the years. "In 1995: 11.0% of live births were born preterm, In 2006: 12.8% of live births were born preterm"(March of Dimes-Peristats). As the numbers keep increasing, many families are suffering and losing hope for they’re babies. African American women have the highest rate of preterm birth in 2004 with a 17.6% (Reedy, 2007). These statistics demonstrate the high frequenc...
First, I will give out some statistics of infant mortality rates in America. According to an Amnesty International report, two maternal deaths occur every day for African-American women. Even though 99% of birth-related deaths happen in developing countries, these numbers for African American women in a country with world renowned health facilities are discouraging.
Pregnancy and the birth of a child throughout many cultures is viewed as a gift, either from God or from any other supernatural figure that they worship. If the pregnancy is terminated for any reason or there are complications it is also viewed in a large group of cultures as a punishment, or because you did not closely follow the rules or regulations of your culture. The process, emotional, and physical stress of bearing a child places mothers and family in a position of opportunity along with placing within them great responsibility. Mothers planning to bear children ideally need to be within the healthy weight range along with being well nourished, but this is not always the case. Many mothers to be are surprised when they realize or are
Throughout the play The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, Mr. Van Daan is rude, selfish, and greedy. These are all bad traits because Mr. Van Daan was not a very nice person. He thought that he was more important than all of the others. He was always thinking that he should have what he wanted instead of what others would like. Such as when he was going to sell his wife's coat for a pack of cigarettes. This essay will explain all about how Mr. Van Daan will react with the others in the attic.
Pregnant women have to be careful while pregnant. They have to watch out for various speed bumps. There are tons of toxins that can hurt the baby in the womb. The mother is responsible for most of these, after all she is the one who is carrying the baby. Many of these factors can result in death. It is really sad that it has to end that way some of the time. The worst toxins for a baby to encounter while in the mother’s uterus are different types of drugs and alcohol. Those two things can could serious problems for the infant once it gets into their system. They enter into the baby’s bloodstream from the mother, and cause problems from there on out.
Another area of the world where women are lacking reproductive rights is Columbia. Many women in Columbia cannot afford contraceptives and abortion is illegal. Women are forced to have abortions by a non-professional or induce them on themselves. Abortion is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality and hospitalization. Sterilization has now become the largest form of family planning in Columbia because contraceptives are not affordable. They either have to take the chance and risk dealing with an unwanted pregnancy or abortion or they have to use steri...
The deliberate termination of a human pregnancy is called an abortion. Abortions are a widely debated subject throughout the world. In the United States, abortions are legal due to the Roe v. Wade law. Some would argue that abortions are ethnically and morally wrong, while others assert it is simply a woman’s choice. There are a number of legitimate reasons why a woman would choose to abort her unborn; financial status, age and health are just a few. With today’s technology and a certified doctor, this procedure is harmless to both the mother and her fetus. Abortions are viewed by many as dangerous and immoral acts of humanity against an unborn fetus. But in reality, abortions terminate a pregnancy that could result in a child being born into a family with inadequate finances, irresponsible parenting, and possible health problems. For these reasons, abortions offer a perfectly viable solution in situations that would otherwise result in children being raised under circumstances that are at best, not ideal, and at worst, harmful and potentially dangerous.
Complications although rare may arise requiring emergency termination. These types of abortion are commonly referred to as spontaneous abortions. They are unintentional and more than likely occur between or before the 20th and 24th week. Malignant health problems with the mother, can become active and cause a pregnancy scare leading to a miscarriage. More than half the time doctors are not aware of the pregnancy when a miscarriage happens. Health issues like high blood pressure, abnormal uterine bleeding or abnormalities, diabetes and many more can be contributing factors to a miscarriage. In 2013, in her article “What Do You Know about Pregnancy,” Moore suggests that other illnesses can be of harm to the expecting mother i.e. cancer, cardiovascular disease, kidney problems, infections etc. (para .10) Less we forget a traumatic experience during pregnancy can cause a miscarriage i.e. an accident or physical trauma. Induced abortion also can be suggested to the expecting parents, if the pregnancy causes a health scare. In cases like this physicians are inclined to save the mother’s life over the
The Millennium Development Goal Report 2013 states that the progress towards achieving the target of reducing maternal mortality by two thirds between 1990 and 2015 significantly falls short of the set goal and the indices are still poor in the developing countries especially sub-Saharan Africa (United Nations, 2013). The People’s Health Movement (PHM), through its WHO Watch clearly identifies the huge omission of Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) in the WHO’s revised strategy on traditional medicine (PHM WHO Watch, 2013). The magnitude of this omission appears to be puzzling owing to the fact that in just about three decades ago the WHO aimed to reduce death of women associated with child bearing through the training of TBAs and promoted their integration into the orthodox health care system. The WHO calls for a collaborative effort in achieving the goal of reducing maternal deaths. Yet, one can insinuate that the TBAs are no longer seen as a resource to be harnessed by public health professionals in addressing the issues associated with childbearing (Langwick, 2011). The ‘friend or foe’ mentality can clearly be observed in a statement made by one of Nigeria’s chief leaders in the fight towards reducing maternal mortality published in Nigeria’s foremost editorial daily newspaper magazine, the Punch. He said that ‘it was no longer acceptable for women to give birth in TBA centres, TBAs were no longer required in labour and delivery because of the availability of enough trained or skilled personnel, and he promised to jail any TBA involved in a maternal death’ (Punch, 2013). As such, it is important for us to critically analyse and evaluate the relevance of TBAs in promoting health from a contemporary global health perspective. I...