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  • Title: Improving maternal health.
    Author: Clinton HR.
    Journal: Popul Today; 1997 Feb; 25(2):3. PubMed ID: 12292288.
    Abstract:
    In Bolivia, 50% of pregnant women experience pregnancy and childbirth without any medical attention. Bolivia has the highest rate of maternal mortality in South America. Family planning programs not only teach women about the benefits of spacing children several years apart, breast feeding, good nutrition, prenatal and postpartum visits, and safe deliveries, they also reduce the incidence of abortion, help to alleviate poverty and contribute to the economic stability of a country. The government, nongovernmental organizations, and the medical community therefore joined forces to launch a nationwide family planning campaign in Bolivia. The US Agency for International Development has provided Bolivia with financial and technical assistance to establish a network of primary health care clinics. The author, US First Lady, visited one of the clinics during her trip to participate in the Sixth Conference of Wives of Heads of State and Government of the Americas. The US Congress recently slashed funds for international family planning program assistance by 35% and added restrictions on the delivery schedule of aid for the first 9 months of the fiscal year. Similarly harsh cuts and delays are included in the current budget. A recent analysis by five population organizations found that these funding cuts will result in 1.6 million more abortions, more than 8000 maternal deaths, and 134,000 infant deaths in developing countries. Policymakers must be made to understand that family planning campaigns in operation in Bolivia and elsewhere are sensible, cost-effective, and long-term strategies for improving women's health, strengthening families, and lowering abortion rates.
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