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Sia Nyama Koroma

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It's Time to Make Mothers a Priority

Posted: 07/03/09 11:18 AM ET

The simple fact that, today, an African-American man is in the White House just shows what is possible and how quickly momentous change can happen if enough people want it. However, some things have not changed in recent decades. 1 in 6 mothers still die from the most deadly killer of women of reproductive age in Africa -- childbirth. We say goodbye to our mothers and sisters as they go into labor, and we know too well that a pregnant woman in Kigali or Freetown has one foot in the grave.

The shocking reality is that according to the United Nations, maternal mortality rates are higher now than in 2000. 99% of these deaths occur in the developing world. In Sierra Leone, a woman's chance of dying in childbirth is 1 in 8. Although indications are that this alarming rate is dropping, it is still avoidably high. And more shocking still, nearly all of these deaths could have been prevented with basic medical care.

The Millennium Development Goal which committed the world to reducing maternal mortality by 75% by 2015, and to make mothers a priority, is failing. This target, which if prioritized, could unlock so much of our continent's potential, has achieved the least progress. But there is still time as we countdown to 2015.

Maternal deaths in our countries, like the vast majority of maternal deaths worldwide, occur as a result of preventable and treatable causes like hemorrhage, obstructed labor, eclampsia and sepsis. Our midwives, nurses and doctors make us proud and do their best with the facilities at their disposal. But they need the numbers and resources to do their job. Countries with credible, costed plans based on strong health systems and effective delivery mechanisms should not fail through lack of funds. This means our Governments must prioritize resources for health in order to realize the commitments they made to spend at least 15% of GDP on health. It also means donors delivering on their end of the bargain.

Our experience in Sierra Leone also shows that attitudes, cultural norms and traditions play a significant role in a mother's decision to seek medical care at crucial periods during pregnancy and childbirth. Poverty is also a huge factor affecting the decision about whether, and when, a woman seeks medical attention. Alongside efforts to strengthen our health systems I have launched a campaign in my country to tackle the non-medical causes and contributory factors which so influence maternal health. We need to change attitudes and behavior, and engage with traditional and religious leaders to effect change at local level where decisions to seek medical care are taken. We also need to make health care affordable and accessible for all pregnant women and children.

We know that when women survive childbirth, their children grow up safe and strong. Healthy women mean healthier families, healthier communities and healthier nations. We know maternal mortality can be reduced; not in the time of our grandchildren, not in the time of our children, but in our time.

Maternal mortality has sadly become the rule not the exception. But this can change. We have the knowledge and the skills to deliver -- we just need the political will and resources to support us.

Last year's G8 recognized these needs and agreed comprehensive recommendations to strengthen health systems. The only thing that was lacking was the money to implement them. When G8 leaders meet next week in Italy they should agree to fill this financing gap. Working together makes for a better world and its time to make mothers a priority.

 
 
 
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07:42 PM on 07/05/2009
Here is a wonderful book about a midwife who ultimately died during childbirth when she was 32. Monique and the Mango Rains was written by Kris Halloway, who was a Peace Corps volunteer in the late 80's. She was Monique's assisistant in a small village in Mali, where the birthrate is high and the chance of dying during childbirth is also very high. The book gives and education on the culture of Mali and how little control women have over their own bodies, despite the high risk childbirth holds for them.

Here is a great grassroots organization which addresses issues like this throughout the world. Dining for Women supports organizations which work with women and children in developing countries. Not only do we help the women in these countries we also learn about the culture and their lives. Check it out at www.diningforwomen.org.
02:50 AM on 07/05/2009
Having the first Lady of Sierra Leone computer literate and who can make such outstanding contributions on the cyber highway is a good omen !
As better half of the Head of State this is a manifestation of the intellectual capacity of the collective embodiment of the highest office of that land.
The issues discussed are very solid,to the point and will surely attract the desired attention!

Keep it up Madam first Lady,like the saying goes "we are known by our works!"
08:23 AM on 07/04/2009
Ms. K. --

Nailed it! Restoring women to their rightful role as partners in our little voyage thru life on this planet is the key to remedying most (if not all) of what is wrong with it.

Men have had the reins for far too long -- and look what they've done: war, death, destruction, poverty, famine, misery, misery, misery. And, as long as they can keep women in their "place" (on the ground, with a man's foot on their throat), it won't change.

The real question is, why are a bunch of bullies allowed to make life so miserable for the rest of us? I think that's the ultimate test for our species -- do we eliminate the stress-makers, or continue to tolerate them?
11:32 PM on 07/03/2009
I have a friend who just read a book called INFIDEL.
This guy is in his mid-fifties, an outdoorsy sort.
It really surprised me that he read this book.
He could NOT GET OVER the descriptions of female circumcision and infibulation.
So many people in the West have no idea how common these practices still are,
and how very horrifying.

This terrible genital mutilation must play a big role in some countries in maternal death.
Peabodies
We are the Many. They are the Few.
08:46 PM on 07/03/2009
Thank you, Ms. Koroma, for your eloquent advocacy for safe birthing. It should be a given in this day and age.
08:40 PM on 07/03/2009
If women would support all rights due to women, infinity would be the limit. First and foremost, all women are pro-life but there must also be choices at all times. We are not going to sit in the back and let somebody else make decisions that will affect our lives forever.
Sia Nyama Koroma...thank you for broadening this matter...I fully support your article!
04:00 PM on 07/03/2009
I support your fight! I'm so glad to see a leader of your stature taking on this issue. That's a true example of someone in power fighting for those without any power. I dream of a day when every woman makes their own reproductive choices freely and with empowerment (including easily-accessible contraceptives), and has her community's support in bringing forth a healthy child into the world through a healthy pregnancy and delivery. Mothers are so important, and when I think of my own mother and how much she's meant to me- everything- I can't imagine the pain of losing one's mother as she tries to give birth to new life. And we must remember that many women who die in childbirth already have other children at home.
02:24 PM on 07/03/2009
NICE TO SEE HER ON THE GLOBAL STAGE , SHE HAS DONE SO MUCH FOR SIERRA LEONEAN WOMEN .
photo
LMPE
I connect the most dissimilar things
02:10 PM on 07/03/2009
Unfortunately, large numbers of men (many in this country) consider women carriers and believe that pregnancy is something to be frowned on. Trying to get them to understand what you have described is as pointless as shouting at a wall.
03:10 PM on 07/03/2009
LMPE,

I have to wonder if you have the same priorities as the author?
Most folks do have their priorities pretty straight, most are for marriage and the nuclear family,
for Motherhood & Fatherhood.
10:03 PM on 07/03/2009
SonofLiberty1,

I have to wonder if you have the same priorities as the author?

In Sierra Leone, "The basic household structure is an extended family, organized for the majority of people around the farm and its rice production. Many households are polygamous, where a husband may have more than one wife; the first or "senior" wife usually has some authority over "junior" wives, such as in training and organizing them into a functional unit." http://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Sierra-Leone.html

On top of that Sierra Leone is still recovering from an horrific war that saw such things as kidnapping for forced fake marriages. There are many unwed mothers. There are hundreds of thousands of orphans.

As far as causes of maternal death, improper abortions account for 4%, obstructed labor counts for 4%, and anemia counts for 4%.

HIV/AIDS counts for 6%, hypertensive disorders for 9%, sepsis/infections 10%, hemorrhage for 34%, and other causes for 30%.

As far as lifetime risk of maternal mortality, the highest contributor is the fertility rate. For each 100 births, approximately two mothers die. It rises to one in 8 over the lifetime because of the high fertility rate.

http://www.childinfo.org/maternal_mortality.html

And I don't think any effort to start attaching your personal American agenda to this effort, and make implications that you are for motherhood and fatherhood and other posters are not, helps at all.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
katielady
01:32 PM on 07/03/2009
As a mother of grown sons and a nurse, and pro life; everyone's life is precious. I am so on your planet. Women need good nutrition and good medical care without outside political pressures... just good medical care addressing their needs. Young women need to be taught about their health needs and how to protect themselves from too many pregnancies or pregnancies that are too close together. They need to know how viruses and diseases are transmitted to protect themselves and their future children. And they need to become advocates for other women.. I know.. the soapbox.. I have seen young women die in childbirth and maybe with good intervention they might have survived.. I have seen young women die because someone tried to abort their pregnancy who was not medically knowledgeable.
thank you for the article.
11:41 PM on 07/03/2009
A well-fitted diaphragm with fresh aloe vera gel as the spermicide, if used properly and consistently,
gives women a great deal of control over their fertility. At a very low cost. Aloe vera plants can grow just about anywhere if protected from freezing temperatures (I know, as I live in the subarctic). The gel is healing as well as spermicidal. And totally nontoxic.

I believe that female barrier methods are not advocated because they allow the female to physically protect herself from pregnancy in a way which other methods do not. This is threatening to men, who
(correctly) extrapolate that a woman used to providing herself this sort of physical protection will be enabled to do the same on other levels of reality (mental, emotional, etc.). But once the men get over themselves, they begin to appreciate how good and welcome that 'extension of protection' really is.
06:10 AM on 07/04/2009
Why is it that some folks just can't get past the attitude that a family is a good thing not a bad thing?

Maybe, if we were all a bit more "responsible" like President Obama likes to say, we wouldn't have so many problems.

Lots of folks are and they don't have those problems:)
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
sunnybunny
02:29 PM on 07/07/2009
Are diaphragms still available? My daughter and I were talking the other day about possible alternatives to the pill and she said she didn't think they still made them? I find this kind of strange since I haven't heard of any problems with them?
12:33 PM on 07/03/2009
I never thought I would see the day when we had to fight for the idea of The Nuclear Family,
Motherhood & Fatherhood and the ability to give children a life free from baloney.

That time has come and it is today.

All of us in America, who believe in the idea of The Nuclear Family, are with you!
12:20 PM on 07/03/2009
You have a tough fight ahead, Mrs. Koroma. We're with you!