Every once in a while, I’ll see a movie on T.V. with a pivotal scene in which a damsel in distress is giving birth. In the majority of these films, the woman goes into labor in the backseat of a cab or a secluded wooded area with—gasp!—no doctor in sight.
But then, lo and behold, the movie hero dashes to the rescue. After a few pushes from the mother-to-be, the hero safely delivers the baby, who is always adorable and always suspiciously older-looking than a newborn.
I always find these scenes completely preposterous because they make childbirth look so easy. And it's absolutely not. Childbirth is a huge, complicated process during which a lot of things can go wrong.
A century ago, nearly 1 in every 100 live births in the United States resulted in a mother’s death. Thanks to modern medicine, that figure has since plummeted to 13 deaths per 100,000 live births.
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| © UNICEF/ HQ05-2402/Anita Khemka |
| INDIA: Putul Mondal and Mithu Mahato hold their newborns, while others lie in cribs, at Purulia District Hospital in West Bengal State. The women are part of a program that helps premature and underweight infants avoid hypothermia, feel secure and bond emotionally. Where incubators are not available, mothers are required to hold their babies constantly against their skin to keep them sufficiently warm. |
But for a lot of women in developing countries, maternal deaths are not a horror of centuries past. They continue to be a very real threat.
In India, a woman dies every seven minutes from a pregnancy complication. The deaths often stem from preventable causes like infection and hemorrhaging, causes which can usually be controlled and easily treated by trained health care providers in medical facilities. But for pregnant women living in remote villages, traveling to distant clinics and hospitals often means hefty transportation fees. And it's a cost that most rural families can't afford. As a result, many of these women give birth at home, far from the medical help that could mean the difference between life or death.
UNICEF saw a simple, effective way to tackle the problem and acted. It helped create Helpline—a 24-hour telephone service that offers pregnant women with free cab rides to hospitals.
Helpline boasts a staff of operators and cabbies who work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Through posters and billboards, Helpline heavily advertises its telephone number and teaches pregnant women and their families how to recognize early warning signs of a pregnancy complication.
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| © UNICEF/ HQ05-2410/Anita Khemka |
| INDIA: Bindu Modi sleeps in bed with her newborn twins at her home in Purulia District in West Bengal State. She delivered the babies at a primary health center. Her delivery was complicated due to pre-eclamptic toxaemia and post-partum haemorrhage. |
When families call, Helpline workers arrange for a car and act as liasons between families and hospital staff. Helpline also provides prenatal and postnatal care for moms and their babies. Since its inception in 2006, Helpline has helped more than 500 mothers-to-be get the medical care they need.
In the movie world, damsels in distress will always have their dashing heroes. But in India, expecting moms can rely on Helpline.
We want to hear from you. What other interventions or programs do you think will help reduce maternal deaths?
Comments (2)
I feel Dr Arun Singh and his team have done a wonderful job in giving india SNCU at district level.
We have a lot to learn from him.
I congratualte all his team.
Posted by Dr Rajan Dubey | February 14, 2009 11:53 AM
Posted on February 14, 2009 11:53
hello my name is alba and im from Barcelona,(Spain). I love India and i think that dr Arun Singh is a very nice person to help people. Im spanish but in my family we love india and his culture, im always listening to indian music and i dance and..etc etc. So take care all people from India...i love them! :)
Posted by Alba | May 10, 2009 11:08 AM
Posted on May 10, 2009 11:08