One of the best indicators of a health care system is how many women die whilst pregnant-trying to give birth or a few weeks after. This is called maternal mortality. The reason public health specialists use this indicator is because a successful delivery of a baby and healthy mother requires all aspects of the system to run smoothly. From the decision of the mother to seek care, recognition of complication, access to health facility, transport to appropriate care delivered at the health facility by trained health workers. Pregnancy complications are unpredictable and are fatal therefore a health system which can prevent these mortalities is said to be robust. The WHO Sustainable Development Goals aim at a maternity mortality rate of 70 per 100,000 live births. In Zimbabwe the rate is 651 deaths per 100,000. In simple terms, this means that about 7 women in Zimbabwe die each and everyday for doing what their bodies were most specially created for – bringing life into this world
Diaries of a Media Medic..