UNITED NATIONS, June 3 (Xinhua) -- More than 5 million families across Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean spend over 40 percent of their non-food household expenses on maternal health services every year, UNICEF said Monday in a new analysis on maternal health.
Nearly two-thirds of these households, or around 3 million, are in Asia while approximately 1.9 million are in Africa. According to the analysis, the costs of antenatal care and delivery services can deter pregnant women from seeking medical attention, endangering the lives of mothers and their babies.
"For far too many families, the sheer costs of childbirth can be catastrophic. If a family cannot afford these costs, the consequences can even be fatal," said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. "When families cut corners to reduce maternal health care costs, both mothers and their babies suffer."
The report notes that although much progress has been made around the world in improving women's access to maternal services, every day over 800 still die from pregnancy-related complications.
AT least 7,000 stillborns also occur every day -- half being babies who were alive when labor began -while 7,000 babies also die in the first month of life, UNICEF said in the report highlighting how few of the world's poorest pregnant women have a doctor, nurse of midwife at their side when they need them most.
The report also notes that globally, pregnancy-related complications are the number one cause of death among girls between 15 and 19 years of age. Because adolescent girls are still growing themselves, they are at great risk of complications if they become pregnant.
"We are failing to deliver quality care to the poorest and most vulnerable mothers,"said Fore."Too many mothers continue to suffer endlessly, especially during childbirth. We can stop this suffering and save millions of lives with a safe pair of hands, functional facilities and better quality of care before, during and after their pregnancy."
