Maternal Health

Maternal Health

Introduction

Issues concerning pregnancy continue to remain one of the main reasons of high risks of death worldwide even today, despite several pledges and commitments in order to take prompt actions to tackle all the issues that trigger maternal health issues and mortality. It has been estimated that at least 500,000 women lose battles of their lives every year due to complications from pregnancy and childbirth; a majority of those causes remain preventable. Now at least 74, 000 of these deaths are caused due to dangerous abortions. Nearly 99 percent of the world's total maternal deaths and injuries are occurring in developing countries. The reason why rates of maternal deaths are high is because majority of nations do not see maternal health as their priority which ultimately makes maternal health services of poor quality. This lack of seriousness shows the level of lack of attention to human rights as these women face a negligent attitude towards their health. In several countries child marriage at an early age and taboos related to adolescent sexuality are contributing heavily to pregnancies at teenage years.

Australia is considered as safe country in terms of women giving birth. From 2003 to 2005, 65 deaths were recorded, directly or indirectly involving pregnancy or its administration, with deaths happening when the women were pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy. Only one woman died for other 11, 896 women at the time of giving birth, which makes a maternal ration of 8.4 per 100, 000 women giving birth. In the same period maternal deaths due to aboriginal were over two and half times as high as for the rest of the women. There were 21.5 deaths per 100, 000 women against 7.9 per 100, 000 for non-indigenous women. Reasons for deaths remained hypertension; thromoembolism and amniotic fluid embolism, while reasons related to psychiatric, cardiac disease and nonobstetric haemorrhage were direct reasons of maternal deaths (UNSW 2012, n.p.).

Discussion

Julia should attend antenatal classes as she is not sure about what care is required for her and her baby over the course of her pregnancy. Parents tend to adjust in different ways. Some say as nothing new happening while for others their entire life shifts towards their baby. Parents join these for their own reasons along with a lifetime of experience, personal; history, hopes and fears. For some these classes provide the opportunity to let them focus on that fact they are becoming parents in the future. Others come to these classes for the sake coming while some fear that not joining these classes is like neglecting their baby. A good antenatal class provide introduction to peers who are able to learn from each other's experiences and discuss their anxieties and experiences with them. Several parents are willing to meet and talk to other people in the same kind of situation. Generally any kind of contact with a pregnant women or expectant fathers or young babies is not that easy until and unless one's ...