By Eulalee Thompson, Staff Reporter 
In Jamaica, according to the publication 'Gender, Health and Development in the Americas' (2003), a compilation of regional statistics, between 1993 and 2001, 106 women per 100,000 died during childbirth compared to 65 per 100,000 in Anguilla, 81 in Barbados, 34 in Cuba, 133 in Guyana, 523 in Haiti, 45
in Trinidad and Tobago and 60 in Venezuela.
MOTHERS DYING in childbirth is a serious health concern in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) states that in this region, for every 100,000 live births, 190 women die in the childbirth process.
Compare this figure to the 17 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in a developed country such as the United States and the extent of the problem is clear the maternal mortality rate in Latin America and the Caribbean is more than 10 times higher than US rate.
In Jamaica, according to the publication Gender, Health and Development in the Americas (2003), a compilation of regional statistics, between 1993 and 2001, 106 women per 100,000 died during childbirth compared to 65 per 100,000 in Anguilla, 81 in Barbados, 34 in Cuba, 133 in Guyana, 523 in Haiti, 45 in Trinidad and Tobago and 60 in Venezuela.
Dr. Mirta Roses, PAHO's director, said recently at the Washington launch of a new strategy designed to cut maternal mortality in the Latin America and the Caribbean that "just one maternal death in one year is a tragic event; 23,000 maternal deaths is shameful."
About 23,000 women die each year in this sub-region from the complications of childbirth. She said that the vast majority of these women are dying from causes that are routinely prevented in developed
countries.
PAHO states that five direct complications account for more than 70 per cent of maternal deaths worldwide:
Haemorrhage this is the most common cause of maternal mortality, accounting for 25 per cent of deaths worldwide. Saving life requires prompt treatment, within two hours of symptoms at a health facility capable of providing blood transfusions and other clinical procedures.
Infection (sepsis) usually the result of poorly-performed abortions and using unsterile procedures during delivery. PAHO states that it can also be the result of prolonged labour, where the woman's membrane is ruptured and antibiotics are not introduced to prevent serious infection.
Unsafe abortion abortion performed with unsterile instruments and under substandard conditions may result in haemorrhaging or infection. However, in countries where abortions are illegal, women are reluctant to seek proper medical attention and may end up dead.
Eclampsia PAHO states that high blood pressure during pregnancy can lead to eclampsia or convulsions during pregnancy, and if not treated early, can lead to death. Competent prenatal is key in its detection and prevention.
Obstructed labour when this condition occurs the woman need skilled care at a hospital.
The World Health Organisation's (WHO's) Millennium Development Goal (MDG) aims to cut maternal deaths by 75 per cent between 1990 and 2015. Four key elements have been identified in the strategy to improve matern care and the health of their newborns. These include the development of human resources (including the improvement of the skill of birth attendants); improving the availability, access, use and quality of services; improving the capacities women, families and the community for self-care at home including empowering them to know when to make the decision to seek professional help, and improving collaborative links with other key primary health care programmes to ensure that the care of mothers and their newborn is an integrated component of the primary healthcare system.
The important message coming out of these international organisations is that deaths during childbirth is preventable but health systems must beef up access to skilled care during pregnancy and childbirth and access to safe abortion and post-abortion services should be made widened.
