Making Childbirth Safer in India

India is a very tough place for mothers and their newborns. At least 25 percent of worldwide deaths from complications of pregnancy or childbirth occur there, according to UNICEF. Anemia and hemorrhage are the two main culprits. According to the World Health Organization, in the Indian state of Rajasthan, the maternal mortality rate is nearly 450 for every 100,000 live births.

For comparison, here in the US, the rate is about 11 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births. The highest recorded rates in the world are in Sierra Leone, which had an astonishing 2,000 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.

One reason maternal mortality rates are low in the US and other developed countries is due to women having much better access to trained healthcare workers.

The UNICEF/Safe Motherhood partnership is one project that appears to have had some success in bringing maternal mortality down in some rural parts of India. The organization has partnered with Johnson & Johnson to fund a multi-faceted program:

Technical support, leadership and training programs to midwives, female health workers and staff nurses in two Indian states, Madhya Pradesh and RajasthanMake skilled caregivers available for the community around the clock at nine health care facilities where the staff has received birth attendant training, with seven more centers to followEmergency transport to take pregnant women to the hospital

The program's results are encouraging. In 2004, only about 35 percent of pregnant women in these states received professional medical care during childbirth. By 2007, after the program was put in place, that number increased to abut 75 percent. The program may be extended to other states in India, if funding is available.