maternal mortality

An article in yesterday's New York Times suggesting that injectable contraceptive use might double the risk of HIV transmission among women in Africa sent waves of anxiety through the global public health community, leading some to ask whether we should halt delivery of injectables. But experts say: "Not so fast."

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Despite a landmark ruling five years ago – when Colombia’s Constitutional Court decriminalized abortion in cases of rape, fetal abnormality or to save the mother’s life – less than 0.5 percent of procedures are carried out legally each year. 

In 2002, Alyne da Silva Pimentel, a 28-year-old Afro-Brazilian woman, died after being denied basic medical care to address complications in her pregnancy. Her death might be like any one of the other hundreds of thousands of women who die of complications of pregnancy or unsafe abortion each year worldwide, but for one thing: It was taken to court.

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Thirty-eight of 58 countries surveyed may fail to meet their target of 95 percent coverage by skilled attendants by 2015 unless an additional 120,000 midwives are trained, deployed and retained. A new report also indicates that upgrading midwifery services could save more than 3.6 million lives each year by 2015.

It happens frequently when I meet someone new.  We each say what work we do, and then he or she says, “You are a man.  Why are you interested in family planning?” 

If we can save mothers, we won’t just save their individual lives; we’ll help save their children’s lives, boost their children’s education rates, and maintain and even boost agricultural productivity.

Today, like every day, nearly 1000 women will die giving life; and many of their babies will not survive beyond the first hours and days after birth.

Childbirth can be a deadly matter in the U.S., especially if you are middle or working class. But it was when looking at race and income together that one civil rights organization decided it needed a new lens.

The WHO lists 30 essential drugs for maternal and child health, Montanans don't want to ban abortion, Princeton Theological Seminarians upset by distribution of racist flyers, and health care reform turns one!

The GOP war on women has gone global. Hidden within the Continuing Resolution (CR) passed by the House of Representatives are another set of drastic cuts and policy changes that would most severely affect women living in poverty and the children that depend on them. Cong. Russ Carnahan and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speak out against these cuts.

Follow Jodi Jacobson on Twitter, @jljacobson