Why are so many expectant mothers still dying?

Every day 15 mothers die due to pregnancy-related complications. This staggering statistic was revealed at a roundtable by an official of the Health Directorate. There were more alarming findings discussed at the event to find out why maternal mortality has not been significantly reduced. According to a government research, there has been no change in the number of deaths due to haemorrhaging while the number of expectant mothers dying due to eclampsia, a pregnancy-related condition, has actually increased. So, what has been happening to make it so risky for women to give birth?

The truth is that maternal health is not getting the priority it should receive. Basic facilities such as availability of trained midwives, properly equipped health centres, and health practitioners especially in rural areas are not adequate or simply missing. A member of parliament, who was present at the discussion, pointed out that at least 20,000 midwives were needed to cater to our mothers-to-be. Of course, this would require extra funds, and hence the budget allocated for postnatal care has to be increased significantly.

But there is another significant cause of maternal mortality that the government tends to skirt around: child marriage. The high incidence of child marriage has led to more pregnancy-related complications among adolescents married off before they reach adulthood. The special provision of the Child Marriage Act that the government chose to include, has only allowed for more child marriages which, in turn, will mean more teenagers facing pregnancy-related complications.

Thus, while it is essential to have an adequate number of trained midwives, better equipped health care facilities and better antenatal care, the social factors that lead to such tragic deaths of mothers have to be in our radar. The government must work with the general public to make them aware of the need to protect and care for expectant women and the need to stop child marriage, and to raise awareness about maternal health. Having such high rates of maternal mortality is simply not acceptable.