Health and Fitness.

Pregnant women die needlessly every day 2010/09/21

DEATHS from complications during pregnancy and childbirth have fallen by a third in the past two decades but 1000 women still die needlessly every day, the World Health Organisation said. Women in poorer countries are 36 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than those in the rich nations, the WHO said, announcing maternal mortality figures that remain far above the United Nations’ flagship targets. “We must do more to reach out to those who are most at risk,” Unicef executive director Anthony Lake said, calling for more attention to obstetric care in rural areas, conflict zones and among women living with HIV, the virus that causes Aids. Some 99 percent of the 358000 maternal deaths reported in 2008 were in developing countries, and more than half were in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the report launched ahead of a summit in New York on the Millennium Development Goals. For maternal mortality rates to hit the UN target, there would need to be an annual decline in deaths of 5.5 percent from now until 2015. The rate of decline since 1990, when there were 546000 pregnancy-related deaths, was 2.3 percent. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said earlier this week that tens of billions of dollars per year were required to achieve the health-related Millennium Development Goals by 2015 as the world has pledged to do. The four major causes of maternal mortality are severe bleeding after childbirth, infections, hypertensive disorders and unsafe abortions, according to the WHO figures. “These complications cause a lot of deaths which can easily be prevented,” Ban told a news conference. “We cannot just accept this intolerable situation where many millions of women die needlessly.” The overall improvement seen since 1990 was attributed to better training for midwives, improved family planning services and better delivery and post-natal care in hospitals and health clinics worldwide. World Bank vice-president Tamar Manuelyan Atinc said helping poor families access medical care, including family planning, emergency obstetric treatment and post-natal monitoring, was fundamental to making a further dent in maternal mortality. — Reuters  (dailydispachonline) ======================================================================= Pregnant women should be more aware of their dental health Updated: 9/20/2010 5:00:12 PM According to the CDC, gooddental hygiene is needed to help prevent gingivitis, which can also occur during pregnancy. The Connecticut Health Foundation (CHF) shows women who are pregnant need to be more conscious about their oral health, according to the Public News Service. Researchers discovered that those who are expecting take less care of their dental health during their pregnancy than both before and after. Joanna Douglass, oral health consultant for the CHF, told the website that new moms are "potentially leery about getting dental care." The CHF is putting forth $5.4 million over the next six years to help pregnant women and children who cannot afford dental care receive the services they need. Douglass says the main reason the investment will focus toward these women and children up to age 5 is because decay caused during a pregnancy can be passed onto the fetus and "pregnant women's oral health can have a profound influence on the child's oral health." One way pregnant women can prevent oral problems is by finding affordable low-cost care. Discount dental plans provide inexpensive services to these individuals and their families. (dentalplans.com)