Maternal deaths have fallen worldwide, dropping by 45% since 1990, reports [s]BBC News[/s]. The [b]World Health Organisation[/b] says most deaths in of women in pregnancy or childbirth are preventable, highlighting the need for more investment in pregnancy care. In 1990, the maternal death rate internationally was more than 500,000 and by 2013 it was down to 289,000.
The WHO says the study highlights the need for poorer countries to invest more in health care, but there is also evidence say experts that in some rich countries such as the US, maternal mortality is rising. More than one in four maternal deaths is caused by pre-existing conditions which complicate pregnancy, such as diabetes, HIV, malaria and obesity.
In SA, deaths among pregnant women and new mothers may finally be falling, but the proportion of these deaths due to an age-old disease may be rising, reports [s]Health-e[/s]. An international research teams has released maternal mortality estimates for 188 countries – in SA about 2,000 mothers die annually due to pregnancy or childbirth-related complications – in [s]The Lancet[/s]. This figure is about 30% higher than the most recent mortality rates cited by the [b]Health Systems Trust’s[/b] annual [i]District Health Barometer[/i]. Dr Rosie Burton, an infectious diseases spec ialist at [b]Khayeltisha District Hospital[/b], cautions that newly released maternal mortality rates are based largely on mathematical modelling and may not be as accurate as SA’s most authoritative source on these types of deaths – the [i]Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths in South Africa[/i] reports, which track deaths among pregnant women and new mothers that occur in health facilities.Parents of newborns should use soap and water, not antibacterial gels and wipes, says the UK’s [b]Royal College of Midwives[/b], reported in [s]The Daily Telegraph[/s]. This follows findings that early exposure to bacteria can protect against asthma, while new research by Dr Benjamin Marsland, from the [b]University of Lausanne[/b] suggests that the first two weeks of life could form a crucial ‘developmental window’ in which exposure to bacteria is required. The latest discovery, made in mice, supports the hypothesis that over-clean conditions in childhood can increase the likelihood of asthma and other allergy diseases.
A new screening test for newborn babies is to be trialled in the UK in a bid to pick up more of those with heart defects. According to a report in [s]The Guardian[/s], [b]Public Health England[/b] has announced that pilot projects will begin in about six hospital trusts. The test, pulse oximetry, measures the oxygen levels in the baby's blood, which can be an indicator of cong enital problems, such as a hole in the heart. The test is non-invasive and will be carried out at the same time as the general health check babies are given within the first 72 hours of life.
[link url=http://www.bbc.com/news/health-27292922]Full BBC News report[/link]
[link url=http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/112682/2/9789241507226_eng.pdf?ua=1]WHO report[/link]
[link url=http://www.health-e.org.za/2014/05/07/country-charts-first-decline-maternal-mortality]Full Health-e report[/link]
[link url=http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)60696-6/abstract]The Lancet summary[/link]
[link url=http://www.health-e.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Web-DHB-2012-13.pdf]District Health Barometer[/link]
[link url=http://www.hst.org.za/publications/saving-mothers-2008-2010-fifth-report-confidential-enquiries-maternal-deaths-south-afri]Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths in South Africa report[/link]
[link url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10823286/Mothers-told-stick-to-soap-and-water-with-newborns.html]Full report in The Daily Telegraph[/link]
[link url=http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nm.3568.html]Nature Medicine preview[/link]
[link url=http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/may/07/screening-newborn-babies-cong enital-heart-defects-trial]Full report in The Guardian[/link]