Trudy Simpson, Staff Reporter
An Acehnese mother and her child leave a mosque after attending a prayer session for the victims of the Asian tsunami on the outskirts of Banda Aceh. - Reuters
THE CHALLENGES of HIV/AIDS, violence and unsafe abortion are threatening to undermine gains made in reducing maternal mortality locally.
In recent years, maternal mortality (the death of mothers during or after childbirth) in Jamaica has fallen from 110 per 100,000 to 98 per 100,000.
In addition, World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics show that each year more than 500,000 women die during pregnancy and in child birth and 10.6 million children under age five die from preventable and treatable conditions. Nearly all these deaths occur among the very poor in low and middle income countries, the WHO said.
However, Dr. Karen Lewis-Bell, director of Family Health services in the Health ministry, notes, while better management of pregnancy has resulted in a reduction in direct causes of death during pregnancy and delivery, indirect causes such as complications linked to violence, HIV and unsafe abortion are rising.
'They are included in the top five causes," she told The Gleaner yesterday ahead of World Health Day, which is being marked today under the theme, "Make every mother and child count." She also urged people to guarantee their health and that of their babies by making use of health services and programmes such as immunisation which are available and beneficial.
PANEL DISCUSSION
To mark World Health Day the health ministry's head offices will have a panel discussion at 12:30 pm on the "Role of the Father in making every mother and child count" and a display in the lobby at 2-4 King Street, downtown Kingston. The Clarendon Health department will also have an immunisation drive.
WHO and other organisations said they are using the day to raise awareness about the need to provide universal access to reproductive health information including on HIV prevention, reduce economic disparities, provide high quality care during pregnancy and delivery and family planning access.
STEPS TAKEN TO ENSURE SAFE PREGNANCIES
The WHO said that govern-ments and the international community should make maternal and child health higher priorities.
Dr. Lewis-Bell said that locally, several steps have been taken to ensure women have safe pregnancies and deliveries. They include:
Better management and monitoring of pregnancies.
Establishing anti-natal clinics and clinics to deal with high risk pregnancies.
Provision of post delivery check ups and counselling and education sessions.
In addition, between October 2004 and January more than 200 doctors and midwives were trained to use a partograph, which is a tool to help monitor pregnancies and which provides "early indication when labour is obstructed so interventions can be done.
"Reproductive health information and access to contraceptives have been boosted, including access to Postinor 2, an emergency contraceptive that can be bought over the counter." Dr. Lewis-Bell said this is aimed at reducing maternal mortality risks by ensuring that women and girls do not have unplanned and unwanted pregnancies.
