How to Save a Woman

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. This is unacceptably high. Nevertheless this death rate has actually come down over the last 8 years.

No woman should die giving birth

So who is killing our mothers?

The thing about health care is it is not just about the doctor and nurse who see the mother. It starts in her home, with her relationship with her husband, with her family. It starts when she is a little girl and her parents make a decision to educate her or not. It depends on where she lives, what the roads are like, whether her family has transport money to rush her to the hospital. It is about her religion, whether her church leaders believe in health care sought at an institute. It is about whether anyone told her family what to do if there is an emergency, whether they even know what that looks like. Health Care is about empowerment and education and social justice. Women are dying because they never had a chance. The futile efforts at the hospital may not be enough to save her. We need to get to the basics of our economy, the infrastructure, our education system, our gender equality.

That is how we can save women.

References

1. The World Health Organisation. Media Centre. Maternal Mortality. Fact Sheet No. 348. (Updated November 2015). Available from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs348/en/ [Accessed 30^th June 2016]

Comments

Saving Mandy

When you have influence, it is your duty to stand up for others and help others up too We had so much in common. We were both born and grew up in the same sleepy hometown of Bulawayo, almost same neighborhood. We attended the same high school, some years apart, but both proud and loud Convent girls. At some point, we must have taken the same Parklands surburb bus from City Hall to home. Our siblings almost same age-groups; our families and friends intertwined all the way back to roots in Dombodema rural home. We both went on to study medicine, she did dentistry, I did MBChB. But eventually we both did a masters in Public Health in the same programme at the University of Zimbabwe. We both got married and set up home in Harare. Bulawayo girls stick together when they arrive in the big bad city. When I had Anashe, she had Siyabonga. We were both pregnant in 2018. Being senior medical professionals we both had access to the “best” medical care. We both had Cesarian Sections...

Do Long Distance Relationships Work?

Health is defined as a state of physical, mental and social well-being (WHO 1946). Did you notice the SOCIAL part? Many doctors overlook this integral part of their patients needs. I have decided to tackle this issue of long-distance relationships because countless friends and family in couples are separated due to job obligations, school or other circumstances. So the question is: do long distance relationships actually work? Who are you dating? Joe Tracy, publisher of Online Dating Magazine believes that long distance relationships require very strong trust, commitment, guidelines and communication. " Studies show that a majority of people involved in long distance relationships eventually break up. That's why you see so many "experts" proclaiming that long distance relationships are a bad idea and don't work. Yet if you learn to master communication and set the parameters of your relationship, it can work. It's an uphill battle, but it is possible ...

First 136 Hours of Love - My Week One of Motherhood

Firstly for those guys who don't have kids and are thinking 'oh no, not another baby post'...I used to be you. And yes I still think most newborn babies look exactly the same - like prunes; I don't get why we need moment by moment feeds of a baby's every move when they all generally do the same thing right, and generally bored by the milestone photo's (how are we celebrating someone using a toilet alone? they better be!) Okay I am not that disinterested. Some babies are cute like the ones on beautifulblackbabies.com. But that's another post. The thing is now that I am on the other side of things, I sorta get it. No, no I am not selling out, let me try and explain in 10 simple points stuff I have learnt about being a mum in the last 135 hours since my world was turned up-side down. 1. My baby is the best. No, seriously. This is what every parent thinks. They have the best facial expressions, the best fingers, even the best poo! And the reason parents post a...

It's SteeTime!

Search This Blog