Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health

The United Nations are trying to improve maternal health around the world. Not only does this mean that they are trying to lower infant mortality rates, but they are attempting to lower mother mortality rates as well. This topic interested me because it deals with the field of work I would like to go into. I believe that every birth should be a safe and healthy one.

Here are the targets outlined by the United Nations:

“Target 5.A:

Reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio.

Target 5.B:

Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health.”

http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/maternal.shtml

So far, progress is being made, but both targets need more work to be able to meet the goal. Maternal mortality rates have dropped 45% from 1990 to 2013. In Northern Africa, Southern and Eastern Asia, mortality ratios have declined by about two-thirds. However, with this good news, we are still finding that regions less developed have a maternal mortality ratio that is 14 times higher than other fully developed regions. In order for the targets to be met, we must do something to provide better healthcare for under-developed regions.

This relates to our society because we still see women wanting to have children at home. Doctors suggest that women should give birth in a hospital environment so that help is there if needed. If the mother is still determined to have her child at home, doctors will recommend that a trained professional or midwife be in attendance to help in case of emergency. Insuring that births are attended by professionals trained in the field, leads us one step closer to lowering maternal mortality rates.