Two Million Infants, Women Die Annually From Childbirth Complications, Study Shows

Main Category: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 08 Oct 2009 - 2:00 PST

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More than two million infants and women die worldwide each year from childbirth complications, outnumbering child deaths from malaria and HIV/AIDS, according to a study released on Tuesday at the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics world congress and published in the October edition of the federation's journal, the AP/New York Times reports. The research was headed by Save the Children, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Johns Hopkins University, along with investigators from several countries.

According to findings, around 1.02 million infants are stillborn annually and 904,000 die soon after birth, compared with 820,000 child deaths from malaria and 208,000 from HIV/AIDS worldwide. The study found that about 42% of 536,000 annual maternal deaths worldwide occur during childbirth. Deaths in Africa and South Asia make up three-quarters of infant and maternal deaths, according to findings.

The study said that many of the deaths could have been avoided with improvements in basic health care, as well as training for local health care workers to perform emergency caesarean sections and other lifesaving techniques. The findings also pointed to poverty as one of the main causes of the deaths, according to the AP/Times. Most women in wealthier countries give birth in the presence of skilled attendants, while skilled obstetrical care is uncommon in poorer countries. Most of the deaths occurred in remote rural areas where there are few physicians and nurses, according to the study. It found that 60 million of the world's 136 million annual births occur outside of health facilities. In African hospitals, only one out of five newborns receives care from skilled medical staff.

Joy Lawn, who manages Save the Children's Saving Newborn Lives campaign, said that researchers were shocked by the lack of attention given to women and their infants. She added, "It is seen as women's business. Stillbirths don't count. Sometimes the deaths of women don't even count." Lawn said she hopes the study will encourage governments to invest in maternal and infant health.

Lawn said she is encouraged by developments in Malawi, in southern Africa. Although there are only three pediatricians for about 12 million people, 60% of births in Malawi occurred in a clinic or hospital, Lawn said. She noted that the majority of c-sections in the country were performed by trained health workers rather than physicians (Jacobson, AP/New York Times, 10/7).

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