In several countries in Africa such as Uganda, Mali, and Somalia many women have six to seven children. Women are more likely to die in developing countries because they do not have as many resources and access to healthcare as much women in developed countries do. Many women also do not have contraceptives so pregnancies are difficult to avoid. The more children that a woman has increases her likelihood of dying due to several reasons. After women have two to three children they are more likely to become anemic and are likely to get postpartum hemorrhage, which is excessive bleeding after giving birth (500ml of blood after vaginal delivery and 1000ml of blood after a cesarean section). If a woman has too many pregnancies it causes her uterus to stretch and it can reduce her nutrients like iron and folate (maternal depletion syndrome).
This is a global social problem because many women are dying because they do not receive the proper care that they need. One out of seven women, around the world, will face difficulties and complications during childbirth. The top five worst countries for woman to have babies are Afghanistan, Niger, Yemen, Guinea-Bissau, and Chad. Women are not able to get basic health care, and do not have midwives or doctors to help them during delivery. There has to be a way to provide maternal care in developing countries; or at least provide contraceptives to the women so they are less likely to get pregnant. Being pregnant should be seen as a joyous time in a women’s life, instead of it being viewed as increasing their chances of death.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/01/health/multiple-pregnancies-mother/index.html?hpt=wo_bn3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postpartum_hemorrhage
November 4th, 2011 3:36pm
2 comments:
I am so excited to have children.... one day. I can't imagine it being a fear that if I get pregnant I have a higher probability of dieing. There has to be some proactive move toward helping these women!
Having the right healthcare is not only vital to the pregnant mother, but also the child. It is so unfortunate the the lack of healthcare has such profound effects on developing countries with the high infant mortality rate as well as maternal mortality rates. This ultimately takes a toll on the population as well, making it hard for these countries to develop.
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