The World Health Organization released findings from a three-year study on interventions to prevent death in mothers during pregnancy and childbirth and also deaths in children under five. Here are study results and how they affect parents.
Maternal and child mortality
According to the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH) 358,000 women die each year during pregnancy or in childbirth. 7.6 million children die before their fifth birthday. Most maternal deaths occur during or right after childbirth. The most common causes are bleeding, high blood pressure, difficult labor and infection. 40 percent of under-age-5 deaths occur within 28 days of birth. 50 percent of the infant deaths happen during the first 24 hours and three-quarters in the first week of life. Leading causes of infant mortality are preterm birth, severe infections and asphyxia.
WHO study goals
The goal of the study was to determine what strategies were working best, were the best use of funds allocations and could be implemented most successfully in hospitals, birthing centers and by midwives in local communities. Study author and WHO Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health director Elizabeth Mason says what's new about the study is " putting together information in a different way and building consensus among physicians, scientists and professional organizations to lay out an evidence-based path to help women before, during and after birth and their children. "
WHO study details
WHO, in partnership with Aga Kahn University (AKU) in Pakistan and PMNCH, conducted a far-reaching global study which explored over 50,000 scholarly papers, from 440 PMNCH partners covering 142 different health interventions. The criteria for intervention took into consideration differing maternal and parent profiles: they looked for strategies that could be adapted to whatever families had available in treatment, from local midwife to large hospital.
Study findings
Study leader and chair of AKU's Women and Child Health Zulfiqar Bhutta says, "What came back was a hodge-podge. PMNCH partners had very different ideas of what should be undertaken." Of the various strategies, WHO identified 56 techniques that could be combined into "packages" of birthing care. WHO organized the 56 techniques into five main thrusts of mother-and-child care.
Key interventions for mothers
Anemia, they determined was a dominant factor in maternal death, so getting iron via nutrition and supplements to mothers during pregnancy and childbirth is crucial. Strategies to prevent post-partum hemorrhaging was also addressed.
Key interventions for infants and children
WHO found that immediate thermal care for newborns was essential. They recommend techniques like Kangaroo Mother Care (keeping the infant close to the mother's body and encouraging breast feeding). Other strategies include improving feeding support for LBW (low birth weight) and preterm babies. LBW is linked to several issue in childhood and even adulthood, Medscape says. WHO says pneumonia is a leading cause in child death, so the study recommended antibiotic therapy.
Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben writes about parenting from 23 years raising four children and 25 years teaching K-8, special needs, adult education and homeschool.
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