High Maternal and Infant Mortality Rates Criticized by International Organizations, Hope for Pregnant Women in Afghanistan with Midwife Training

2023-05-09 11:32:38

Today, Tuesday (May 9, 2023), international organizations criticized the lack of progress on reducing Deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth. It is noteworthy that every year about 4.5 million mothers and infants around the world die during pregnancy and at birth or in the first weeks of the birth of the infant.

According to a UN report, the number has been proven since 2015 at about 2.3 million infants who die during the first month of birth and 1.9 million infants are stillborn, while about 290,000 women and girls die annually from complications of pregnancy and childbirth. “These rates are unacceptable,” said Dr. Anshu Banerjee, director of the Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent and Aging Health at the World Health Organization.

He added, “The continued death of pregnant women and infants at unacceptable rates around the world, and the Corona pandemic, led to a decline in providing the health care they need.”

In addition, the availability of medicines, clean water and electricity must be ensured.

According to the report, the Corona pandemic, high rates of poverty and humanitarian crises are all factors that have exacerbated pressure on health systems in recent years.

International organizations have also stressed the need to combat prejudice and injustice against women to improve the health of mothers and their children. It is noteworthy that globally, only about 60% of girls and women have the ability to make their own decisions about their sexual and reproductive health.

Hope for pregnant women in Afghanistan – qualifying young women for the profession of midwife

Work in the maternity ward

A midwifery training program or project approved by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) with a local aid organization in Bamiyan. At Bamyan hospital, midwives work with health staff, learning how to assess pregnant women, assist them in childbirth, and care for mothers and babies.

Hope for pregnant women in Afghanistan – qualifying young women for the profession of midwife

awaiting labour

Since taking power in 2021, the Taliban has largely blocked women’s access to education, universities, and the job market. Exceptions exist only in the health sector. As part of the pilot project, 40 young women being trained at Bamiyan Hospital will later take care of pregnant women in their villages.

Hope for pregnant women in Afghanistan – qualifying young women for the profession of midwife

Women study for women

Project participants follow the lessons with focus and enthusiasm. “I want to learn and help people in my village,” said a 23-year-old female student. The help is so crucial because in Afghanistan, nearly six percent of all newborns die before reaching the age of five.

Hope for pregnant women in Afghanistan – qualifying young women for the profession of midwife

Blood pressure measurement

Blood pressure measurement is part of the daily routine for pregnant women. Some future midwives are already mothers and are aware of the problems during pregnancy. “At first, I didn’t want to be a nurse or a midwife,” says one of the participants in the project. But the experiences she had during her pregnancy made her change her mind. She is now the mother of an 18-month-old boy.

Hope for pregnant women in Afghanistan – qualifying young women for the profession of midwife

Walk for two hours to reach the hospital

Everything has to fit. Here, a 20-year-old student adjusts her headscarf and mask in front of a mirror shortly before starting work. Her commitment to midwifery training is not easy, as she walks two hours every day to reach the hospital where she is undergoing training as a midwife.

Hope for pregnant women in Afghanistan – qualifying young women for the profession of midwife

A wonderful panorama of underserved areas

After their training, midwives are supposed to help women in remote villages give birth. Because people there are often denied medical care. According to the World Health Organization, Afghanistan has one of the highest maternal mortality rates: about three percent of all women die during or as a result of pregnancy.

Hope for pregnant women in Afghanistan – qualifying young women for the profession of midwife

The pain of losing a baby after carrying it for nine months

In one of these villages, Aziza Rahimi, 35, who lost her son due to a lack of medical care, is grieving. “I bled for two hours and my husband couldn’t get an ambulance” to take me to the hospital, she says. The birth took place at home, and her son died shortly after birth. “I carried my son in my womb for nine months and then lost him,” the woman says. “It’s very painful.”

Hope for pregnant women in Afghanistan – qualifying young women for the profession of midwife

Lack of sensitization with a high birth rate

Women awaiting treatment at Bamyan Hospital. Many of them do not have access to information about pregnancy, childbirth and family planning. The birth rate in Afghanistan is still higher than the regional average. In terms of statistics, one woman gives birth to 4.64 children. For comparison, in neighboring Iran, the rate is 1.69 births per woman. Prepared by: Philip Ball/M.A.M./P.S