How can you Prevent or Manage the Complications of Pregnancy?
Most maternal deaths are easily prevented by the following measures:
- All women must have access to antenatal care and check-ups during pregnancy
- Managing concurrent conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, epilepsy and heart disease during pregnancy with drugs and preventing deterioration
- Prevention of infections by educating about personal hygiene, hand washing and other measures, as well as prompt recognition and treatment of infections
- Availability of skilled attendant/doctor during childbirth to recognize complications and promptly manage such as hemorrhage or rise in blood pressure
- Proper care and support to women in the immediate postpartum period
- Ensuring proper nutrition to women even before pregnancy and the entire duration of pregnancy and postpartum
- Educating women about contraception and the importance of spacing between successive pregnancies to avoid damaging their health by frequent pregnancies
- All women should have access to safe abortion
- Educating women and their families on the risk of adolescent pregnancy
WHO Response for Preventing/Reducing Maternal Deaths
In 2015 the WHO launched the Sustainable Development Goals campaign aiming not just to reduce maternal and child mortality but also create a sustainable environment to ensure their health and well-being, allowing them to thrive. Some of the policies being implemented by the WHO in collaboration with its partners include the following:
- Addressing inequalities in access to proper reproductive, maternal, and newborn health care services in various countries as well as within countries
- Providing health cover for the care of pregnant women and newborns
- Providing quality resources in primary care to recognize and treat common complications such as diabetes, hypertension, epilepsy, heart disease and infections during pregnancy
- Improving health care delivery by collecting data on the needs and priorities of women in a given population
- Continuous review of frequent causes of maternal deaths in a given population and institution of measures and guidelines to prevent similar deaths in future
- Holding the health care personnel accountable to ensure proper care and outcome
