The Consequences of Maternal Morbidity and Maternal Mortality


Book Description

In 1997 the committee published Reproductive Health in Developing Countries: Expanding Dimensions, Building Solutions, a report that recommended actions to improve reproductive health for women around the world. As a follow- on activity, the committee proposed an investigation into the social and economic consequences of maternal morbidity and mortality. With funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the U.S. Agency for International Development, the committee organized a workshop on this topic in Washington, DC, on October 19-20, 1998. The Consequences of Maternal Morbidity and Maternal Mortality assesses the scientific knowledge about the consequences of maternal morbidity and mortality and discusses key findings from recent research. Although the existing research on this topic is scarce, the report drew on similar literature on the consequences of adult disease and death, especially the growing literature on the socioeconomic consequences of AIDS, to look at potential consequences from maternal disability and death.




Disease Control Priorities, Third Edition (Volume 2)


Book Description

The evaluation of reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) by the Disease Control Priorities, Third Edition (DCP3) focuses on maternal conditions, childhood illness, and malnutrition. Specifically, the chapters address acute illness and undernutrition in children, principally under age 5. It also covers maternal mortality, morbidity, stillbirth, and influences to pregnancy and pre-pregnancy. Volume 3 focuses on developments since the publication of DCP2 and will also include the transition to older childhood, in particular, the overlap and commonality with the child development volume. The DCP3 evaluation of these conditions produced three key findings: 1. There is significant difficulty in measuring the burden of key conditions such as unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortion, nonsexually transmitted infections, infertility, and violence against women. 2. Investments in the continuum of care can have significant returns for improved and equitable access, health, poverty, and health systems. 3. There is a large difference in how RMNCH conditions affect different income groups; investments in RMNCH can lessen the disparity in terms of both health and financial risk.




In Her Lifetime


Book Description

The relative lack of information on determinants of disease, disability, and death at major stages of a woman's lifespan and the excess morbidity and premature mortality that this engenders has important adverse social and economic ramifications, not only for Sub-Saharan Africa, but also for other regions of the world as well. Women bear much of the weight of world production in both traditional and modern industries. In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, women contribute approximately 60 to 80 percent of agricultural labor. Worldwide, it is estimated that women are the sole supporters in 18 to 30 percent of all families, and that their financial contribution in the remainder of families is substantial and often crucial. This book provides a solid documentary base that can be used to develop an agenda to guide research and health policy formulation on female health--both for Sub-Saharan Africa and for other regions of the developing world. This book could also help facilitate ongoing, collaboration between African researchers on women's health and their U.S. colleagues. Chapters cover such topics as demographics, nutritional status, obstetric morbidity and mortality, mental health problems, and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.




Reducing Birth Defects


Book Description

Each year more than 4 million children are born with birth defects. This book highlights the unprecedented opportunity to improve the lives of children and families in developing countries by preventing some birth defects and reducing the consequences of others. A number of developing countries with more comprehensive health care systems are making significant progress in the prevention and care of birth defects. In many other developing countries, however, policymakers have limited knowledge of the negative impact of birth defects and are largely unaware of the affordable and effective interventions available to reduce the impact of certain conditions. Reducing Birth Defects: Meeting the Challenge in the Developing World includes descriptions of successful programs and presents a plan of action to address critical gaps in the understanding, prevention, and treatment of birth defects in developing countries. This study also recommends capacity building, priority research, and institutional and global efforts to reduce the incidence and impact of birth defects in developing countries.




Reducing Maternal and Neonatal Mortality in Indonesia


Book Description

The Republic of Indonesia, home to over 240 million people, is the world's fourth most populous nation. Ethnically, culturally, and economically diverse, the Indonesian people are broadly dispersed across an archipelago of more than 13,000 islands. Rapid urbanization has given rise to one megacity (Jakarta) and to 10 other major metropolitan areas. And yet about half of Indonesians make their homes in rural areas of the country. Indonesia, a signatory to the United Nations Millennium Declaration, has committed to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). However, recent estimates suggest that Indonesia will not achieve by the target date of 2015 MDG 4 - reduction by two-thirds of the 1990 under - 5 infant mortality rate (number of children under age 5 who die per 1,000 live births) - and MDG 5 - reduction by three-quarters of the 1990 maternal mortality ratio (number of maternal deaths within 28 days of childbirth in a given year per 100,000 live births). Although much has been achieved, complex and indeed difficult challenges will have to be overcome before maternal and infant mortality are brought into the MDG-prescribed range. Reducing Maternal and Neonatal Mortality in Indonesia is a joint study by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Indonesian Academy of Sciences that evaluates the quality and consistency of the existing data on maternal and neonatal mortality; devises a strategy to achieve the Millennium Development Goals related to maternal mortality, fetal mortality (stillbirths), and neonatal mortality; and identifies the highest priority interventions and proposes steps toward development of an effective implementation plan. According to the UN Human Development Index (HDI), in 2012 Indonesia ranked 121st out of 185 countries in human development. However, over the last 20 years the rate of improvement in Indonesia\'s HDI ranking has exceeded the world average. This progress may be attributable in part to the fact that Indonesia has put considerable effort into meeting the MDGs. This report is intended to be a contribution toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals.




Contraception and Reproduction


Book Description

Se estudian las consecuencias sanitarias de los diferentes patrones reproductivos en la salud de la mujer y de los niños. Tambien se evaluan el riesgo y los beneficios de los diferentes metodos anticonceptivos, aunque algunos de los datos en los que se basa son de paises desarrollados, el nucleo central del informe son los paises en desarrollo.







Half the Sky


Book Description

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A passionate call to arms against our era’s most pervasive human rights violation—the oppression of women and girls in the developing world. From the bestselling authors of Tightrope, two of our most fiercely moral voices With Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn as our guides, we undertake an odyssey through Africa and Asia to meet the extraordinary women struggling there, among them a Cambodian teenager sold into sex slavery and an Ethiopian woman who suffered devastating injuries in childbirth. Drawing on the breadth of their combined reporting experience, Kristof and WuDunn depict our world with anger, sadness, clarity, and, ultimately, hope. They show how a little help can transform the lives of women and girls abroad. That Cambodian girl eventually escaped from her brothel and, with assistance from an aid group, built a thriving retail business that supports her family. The Ethiopian woman had her injuries repaired and in time became a surgeon. A Zimbabwean mother of five, counseled to return to school, earned her doctorate and became an expert on AIDS. Through these stories, Kristof and WuDunn help us see that the key to economic progress lies in unleashing women’s potential. They make clear how so many people have helped to do just that, and how we can each do our part. Throughout much of the world, the greatest unexploited economic resource is the female half of the population. Countries such as China have prospered precisely because they emancipated women and brought them into the formal economy. Unleashing that process globally is not only the right thing to do; it’s also the best strategy for fighting poverty. Deeply felt, pragmatic, and inspirational, Half the Sky is essential reading for every global citizen.




Birth Settings in America


Book Description

The delivery of high quality and equitable care for both mothers and newborns is complex and requires efforts across many sectors. The United States spends more on childbirth than any other country in the world, yet outcomes are worse than other high-resource countries, and even worse for Black and Native American women. There are a variety of factors that influence childbirth, including social determinants such as income, educational levels, access to care, financing, transportation, structural racism and geographic variability in birth settings. It is important to reevaluate the United States' approach to maternal and newborn care through the lens of these factors across multiple disciplines. Birth Settings in America: Outcomes, Quality, Access, and Choice reviews and evaluates maternal and newborn care in the United States, the epidemiology of social and clinical risks in pregnancy and childbirth, birth settings research, and access to and choice of birth settings.