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The research, commissioned by a number of health experts, have said more needs to be done in order to protect the lives of new mothers and their babies.
The paper, published in the journal PLOS One, looked at the situation in Tanzania, where just 30.5% of births occur in places with safe water and basic sanitation.
In 2013, one in every 44 women in the country faced dying in childbirth in their lifetime.
In other developing countries, the level of risk is similar.
Globally for 2013, around 289,000 women died from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth. Those behind the report have said this number can be significantly reduced through better provision and monitoring of safe water, as well as basic sanitation and hygiene in order to prevent infection and improve care.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 38% of healthcare facilities in 54 low-income countries are without an improved water source, leaving doctors, nurses and midwives struggling to care for patients.
Lenka Benova of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), and lead author of the paper, said: "Nearly 8,000 women in Tanzania die each year in or immediately after childbirth. Sepsis from infection causes at least 10% of these deaths. Nearly half of women, and disproportionately the country's poorest, are giving birth at home, and almost none of these homes have clean water and basic sanitation. But women cannot be expected to go to a health facility to deliver if it is dirty.
"This situation is not limited to Tanzania. What is frustrating is we know infection-related deaths are preventable, with the addition of clean water, basic toilets and good hygiene practice. Our hope is these findings will guide future work on UN development goals and make the provision of these services a priority, when trying to improve the health of new mothers and their babies."
Yael Velleman, senior policy analyst, sanitation and health, at WaterAid, added: "Health agencies and governments have encouraged women to give birth in hospitals and clinics to give them a better chance of surviving complications. But if those environments are dirty, without safe water, basic toilets and a way to keep patients, beds and instruments clean, women are reluctant to seek them out for fear of exposing themselves and their babies to deadly infection.
"As governments work to help women and their babies survive childbirth, they must not neglect these basic building blocks of health care. In coming months, there is a chance to address these desperate needs in new Sustainable Development Goals now under discussion at the UN."
The report has been compiled by a number of global health bodies including the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the World Health Organisation, as well as charities WaterAid and UNICEF.
(JP/CD)
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Poor Conditions Killing Mothers And Newborns – Report
A new report has said that a lack of safe water, sanitation and hygiene while giving birth is causing the deaths of many mothers and newborns in the developing world.The research, commissioned by a number of health experts, have said more needs to be done in order to protect the lives of new mothers and their babies.
The paper, published in the journal PLOS One, looked at the situation in Tanzania, where just 30.5% of births occur in places with safe water and basic sanitation.
In 2013, one in every 44 women in the country faced dying in childbirth in their lifetime.
In other developing countries, the level of risk is similar.
Globally for 2013, around 289,000 women died from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth. Those behind the report have said this number can be significantly reduced through better provision and monitoring of safe water, as well as basic sanitation and hygiene in order to prevent infection and improve care.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 38% of healthcare facilities in 54 low-income countries are without an improved water source, leaving doctors, nurses and midwives struggling to care for patients.
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Lenka Benova of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), and lead author of the paper, said: "Nearly 8,000 women in Tanzania die each year in or immediately after childbirth. Sepsis from infection causes at least 10% of these deaths. Nearly half of women, and disproportionately the country's poorest, are giving birth at home, and almost none of these homes have clean water and basic sanitation. But women cannot be expected to go to a health facility to deliver if it is dirty.
"This situation is not limited to Tanzania. What is frustrating is we know infection-related deaths are preventable, with the addition of clean water, basic toilets and good hygiene practice. Our hope is these findings will guide future work on UN development goals and make the provision of these services a priority, when trying to improve the health of new mothers and their babies."
Yael Velleman, senior policy analyst, sanitation and health, at WaterAid, added: "Health agencies and governments have encouraged women to give birth in hospitals and clinics to give them a better chance of surviving complications. But if those environments are dirty, without safe water, basic toilets and a way to keep patients, beds and instruments clean, women are reluctant to seek them out for fear of exposing themselves and their babies to deadly infection.
"As governments work to help women and their babies survive childbirth, they must not neglect these basic building blocks of health care. In coming months, there is a chance to address these desperate needs in new Sustainable Development Goals now under discussion at the UN."
The report has been compiled by a number of global health bodies including the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the World Health Organisation, as well as charities WaterAid and UNICEF.
(JP/CD)
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