Saving Mothers

Nichole conducted evaluations of Saving Mothers’ birthing kits with 22 comadronas. All the comadronas stated that they like the kits and all but one said that they would use the

We found that our birthing kits were very well received. Of the responses, 88 said that the kit was easy to use, 3 liked the design, 14 stated that the materials inside the kit were useful and 2 said that the kit prevents infection. Nearly all of them said that they would definitely use the birthing kit again. Only one said that she was unsure because she works also work at a nearby hospital. Every comadrona who filled out an evaluation was given a certificate of participation.

Evaluating Saving Mothers’ Birthing Kit Initiative is the first step to improving the program for the future. By analyzing the results, we can ensure that our program meets the needs of the comadronas and promote maternal health in these two towns.

One of the major objectives included in the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals is to slash the global maternal mortality rate by 75 percent by 2015, but little progress has been made in this direction, according to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

To jump start efforts to improve conditions for women and expectant mothers around the world, U.N. leaders have devised a Joint Action Plan to encourage countries of all development level to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates. A major piece of this will be holding business, government, and philanthropic official accountable for making measurable improvements in the current situation.

Several actions needs to be taken to accomplish this goal, the U.N. says. Access to health care, trained medical professionals, and necessary treatments, needs to be improved. Adequate funding will also be required to make real change. This money could be used to offer monetary incentive to women for delivering in a hospital or clinic.

According to a recent article in the medical journal Lancet, maternal mortality rates are already improving, but great strides still need to be taken to reduce the high number of completely preventable deaths still occurring around the world. Distribution networks for care, pharmaceuticals and other resources needs to be upgraded immediately.

Progress toward all of these goals will be reviewed in September when the U.N. checks in on its Millennium Development Goals. You can find more information about the new initiative here.

Today, British medical journal, The Lancet, published a report that states that maternal deaths have fallen from 526,300 in 1980 to 342,900 in 2008. This is a 35% decrease over the past 30 years.

It has long been reported that little progress has been made in reducing maternal mortality, which is defined as death of a women during pregnancy, childbirth or in the 42 days after delivery. This surprising news is partly due to improvements in methodology and more accurate reporting.

The reported decline in maternal mortality is also due to the following reasons:

1)      Lower pregnancy rates in several countries

2)      Higher income, which also leads to lower fertility rates

3)       More education for women

4)      Improvements in nutrition and access to health care

5)      Increasing access to skilled birth attendants

While the report brought good news to the international community and showed that our programs have been effective, it also states that, in some countries, maternal deaths are rising. The countries that account for over half of maternal deaths are: India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Sub-Saharan Africa still has the highest rates of maternal mortality and HIV/AIDS has contributed to the high rates of pregnancy-related deaths. If HIV was not present, the maternal mortality rate worldwide would be even lower at 281,500.

Overall, this report gives Saving Mothers and other organizations hope that our efforts have lead to decreasing maternal deaths worldwide.