Women's health

Abstract

In 2005, there were 536,000 maternal deaths worldwide, which equates to four Jumbo jets crashing a day or one death per minute. Developing countries accounted for 90% of these deaths. More than half of the maternal deaths occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa alone, followed by South Asia, which together accounted for 86% of global maternal deaths. Maternal mortality rate was highest in developing countries (450 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births) in contrast to developed countries (9/100,000) and countries of Commonwealth independent states (51/100,000).The highest recorded maternal mortality is in the Hindu Kush of Afghanistan where the maternal mortality per 100,000 births is 6,500. Even the basic emergency obstetric services are not available in countries with high maternal mortality rates. There is either lack of trained staff, equipment, and supplies. Because of their status in society, lack of education, and understanding of health related issues, women delay seeking existing health care. During conflict or catastrophe, there is a rise in maternal death because of damage to health facilities, difficulty in reaching the facilities. This has become evident from the war conflict in Sierra Leone, Timor, Afghanistan, and Iraq and also from natural disasters like Asian tsunami. According to UNICEF, maternal mortality rate in Iraq has gone up by 65% in last 15 years.