Blog

The Economic and Social Impacts of Maternal Death

by Tezeta Tulloch, Communications Manager at the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University

What happens when a mother dies? In the West, the most ready and obvious answer is grief – the harrowing emotional and psychological toll of losing a loved one. A mother’s death is largely viewed as a private tragedy that will grow more manageable in time.

But in many developing countries, a mother’s death is much more than an emotional crisis, often leading to long-term social and economic breakdown… read more

International Day of the Midwife: What Are Global Leaders Saying?

Today, May 5, is the International Day of the Midwife. This is an opportunity for the global community to come together to recognize the incredible impact midwives have on maternal and newborn health and decreasing mortality. Want to know more about what global leaders are doing to strengthen midwifery? On Monday, March 23rd, global leaders in midwifery and maternal, newborn and child health gathered in Washington, DC at the Wilson Center for Call the Midwife: A Conversation About the Rising Global Midwifery Movement. This symposium hosted four panels to discuss current data, country investments, important global initiatives and public private partnerships and innovation in midwifery… read more

New Research to Shorten Recovery Time for Fistula Repair

For women living with obstetric fistula who constantly leak urine or feces, the opportunity to undergo surgical repair can be life-changing. However, treatment itself can bring many challenges, including a long post-operative recuperation in the hospital. One of the key factors that determines the length of post-operative inpatient stay is how long a woman needs bladder catheterization, a small tube inserted into the bladder through the urethra to drain urine, after surgery. New research has just been published to define appropriate catheterization times, shortening a woman’s length of stay… read more

The European Commission Needs Your Input!

The European Commission seeks your input through a scoping survey in preparation of a high-level conference and the launch of an inducement prize on maternal and newborn health. Read more about the survey…

Accounting for 1 in 3 Maternal Deaths, Health Disparities Persist in South Asia

The state of maternal health in South Asia is difficult to assess. Although rates of maternal mortality are declining between 2 and 2.5 percent a year overall, the region’s massive population – one fifth of the world and over 1 billion people in India alone – means it still accounts for one out of three maternal deaths. In February, Oxfam India hosted the South Asia Consultation on Maternal Health in Kathmandu, Nepal, which brought together delegates from each South Asian country to discuss recurring problems and highlight four persistent challenges as well as recommendations for improving results in maternal health. As part of the Advancing Policy Dialogue on Maternal Health Series, the MHTF, along with UNFPA, supported the Wilson Center to host a panel of participants from the consultation for the event “South Asia Consultation on Maternal Health: Regional Dialogue and Way Forward”… read more

East Africa Community Launches Regional Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Scorecard

The East African Community (EAC) has launched a Regional Reproductive Maternal Newborn and Child Health (RMNCH) Scorecard. The Scorecard is an innovative tool for communicating progress on key global, regional and national commitments for children and women’s health. The Scorecard was launched in the 2nd Health Ministers and Parliamentarians’ Forum held recently in Kampala, Uganda that brought together EAC Ministers responsible for health, selected parliamentarians, the academia and development partners… read more

What We Must Do to Get Oxytocin to the Women Who Need It

Limited access to quality-assured essential medicines is a common problem across the globe. Quality assurance requires strong commitment to quality-assured manufacturers, wholesalers and ongoing quality testing. For relatively inexpensive maternal commodities, such as oxytocin, that are critically important—but not used in high volume—there is little financial incentive for private health sector involvement and more reliance on the public sector to manage procurement. For example, for every pregnancy in Kenya, there are 12 cases of diarrheal disease, and thus treatment with ORS will require more doses, and perhaps lead to greater profitability, than treatment with oxytocin. Thus, quality-assured oxytocin should be a key commodity in national procurements… read more

The Time Has Come to Maximize the Public Health Impact of Intermittent Preventive Treatment of Malaria in Pregnancy in Sub-Saharan Africa

By: Matthew Chico, Lecturer, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine In sub-Saharan Africa, 10,000 women and 200,000 children under the age of one die each year as a consequence…

To Recognize World Malaria Day, Clara Menéndez Talks Malaria in Pregnancy

This week I spoke with Dr. Clara Menendez—a true pioneer in eliminating malaria in pregnancy—to reflect on where we’ve been and where we must go as a global maternal health community to protect women and their children from the unnecessary burden caused by malaria.Why is this important? Pregnant women have up to a 50% greater risk of malaria infection than women who are not pregnant. Each year in Africa alone, malaria in pregnancy kills 10,000 women, 75,000-200,000 infants and 100,000 newborns – making up 11% of all neonatal deaths…. read more

Uganda Policy Makes Protecting Pregnant Mothers From Malaria a National Priority

For any expecting mother there are many things to worry about – from ensuring her growing baby’s health to making preparations to welcome him or her into the world. Imagine if one of those concerns was malaria. For the 1.6 million Ugandan women who live in areas where malaria is endemic, contracting malaria while pregnant is a dangerous reality. Malaria in pregnancy, or MiP, significantly increases the risk of serious health issues for both mother and baby, including maternal anemia, miscarriage, stillbirth, prematurity and low birth weight. Since 2001, the government of Uganda has been making strides to include malaria prevention for pregnant women in their health policies… read more