Investments in maternal health are reaping powerful results. It’s hard for those of us lucky enough to live in developed countries to imagine why anyone would die from complications in pregnancy or childbirth. We know it happens and there are outlyer examples; but generally, this is not the expectation in our communities
Well, globally, the number of women who die from pregnancy complications and childbirth has been hovering around 500,000 each year. This year’s research yielded a 35% reduction in this number, down to 342,900 in 2008 (up from 529,300 in 1980!) Bravo.
The Huffington Post reports that about half the deaths each year come from countries in Asia and Africa; China and South America have seen improvement. Here’s sobering datapoint: the US, Canada and Norway are actually seeing increases.
So, with the healthcare argument taking up a lot of airspace these days, put this in the mix as you craft your own point of view of our healthcare situation in the US
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