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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Maternal Mortality in Ghana: The Other Side |
Author: | Senah, Kodjo |
Year: | 2003 |
Periodical: | Research Review (ISSN 0855-4412) |
Volume: | 19 |
Issue: | 1 |
Pages: | 47-55 |
Language: | English |
Notes: | biblio. refs., maps |
Geographic terms: | Ghana West Africa |
Subjects: | pregnant women maternal mortality pregnancy Health, Nutrition, and Medicine Demographics abortion Medicine, Nutrition, Public Health mothers mortality Maternal health services Manners and customs |
Abstract: | According to recent estimates, about 200 to 740 per 100,000 Ghanese women die from pregnancy-related complications. This paper examines the 'non-medical' issues that affect maternal mortality in Ghana. These issues include sociocultural factors such as taboos about eating during pregnancy, lack of training of traditional midwives, delays in arriving at health facilities for delivery due to transportation problems, and delays on the part of medical staff in attending to women in labour. The paper also examines the contribution of abortion to maternal deaths. It points out that, although maternal mortality is largely preventable, it continues to cause the death of hundreds of women annually. This is not only because the sociocultural components of maternal mortality are largely ignored by policymakers, but also because the tragedy of maternal mortality is gendered: the women it affects are politically voiceless and financially powerless. Bibliogr., notes., sum. [ASC Leiden abstract] |