Last March, a landmark maternal health petition was filed in Uganda, aimed at holding the government accountable for the deaths of two women in childbirth. It garnered global media attention at the time, yet five months into the process momentum has stalled. When will it be time to women to take the front seat?
Women Deliver, the maternal health advocacy group, today named its “Women Deliver 50,” a list not of individuals, but of solutions, focusing not on the “who” but the “how of change, and hopefully inspriing people to think bigger and crazier, and do better work.
There is a subtle message–often coming from other women–that to truly experience childbirth, women must eschew medical interventions, including pain medication, and go “natural.” But some women are happy to put their deliveries in the hands of the medical establishment with its rules and regulations, its operating rooms, its NICUs, and its drugs. That’s a good choice, too.
Thirty-eight of 58 countries surveyed may fail to meet their target of 95 percent coverage by skilled attendants by 2015 unless an additional 120,000 midwives are trained, deployed and retained. A new report also indicates that upgrading midwifery services could save more than 3.6 million lives each year by 2015.
The International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), the worldwide professional association of midwives, is holding their first meeting in Africa this week, in Durban, South Africa. The focus is on ensuring the women of the world have safe pregnancies and increased access to medical services.
Today, like every day, nearly 1000 women will die giving life; and many of their babies will not survive beyond the first hours and days after birth.
The pro-choice movement and the birthing community alike are waking up to the fact that abortion rights and the rights of childbearing women are inextricably linked.
I am concerned about the lack of coverage for the daily violation of women’s rights that occurs on the labor and delivery unit.
Could a miniature ultrasound machine that sends images via cellphone improve maternal health outcomes? Also, Nevada passes anti-discrimination bills and Florida passes slate of anti-abortion bills.
Each day more than 7,300 babies are stillborn – a death just when a parent expects to welcome a new life. Each one is an individual story of a family devastated by the loss of their child.
