Over 3,000 lives are lost to stillbirth a day across the
world - most of which are preventable, according to studies published by The
Lancet. 98% occur in low-income and middle-income countries.
Half of stillbirths happen during labour as a result of
preventable conditions, notably syphilis and malaria, they add. The studies
argue stillbirths are preventable through high-quality antenatal care. The
studies say there is a widespread belief that stillbirths are due to birth
defects and are unavoidable. However, it points out that this only accounts for
7.3% of stillbirths after 28 weeks.
Two-thirds of last year's 2.6 million stillbirths were in
Africa. The three countries with the highest rates of still births as Pakistan,
followed by Nigeria and Chad. Rwanda was able to reduce the number of
stillbirths.
More than 40 million women give birth unattended at home
each year
At present rates of progress, it will be 160 years until a
woman in Africa will have the same chance of her baby being born alive as a
woman in a high-income country
No comments:
Post a Comment