Maternal Health Essay

Maternal mortality represents more than the loss of lives for individual women, as it also reflects the larger value and prioritization of women 's health and threatens the health and survival of families, young children, and even the communities in which they live (Royston and Armstrong, 1989). Maternal mortality is unacceptably high (WHO, 2015b). Globally, approximately 830 women die every day from pregnancy- or childbirth-related complications (ibid.). The causes of maternal mortality are predominately preventable and can be classified into three fundamental causes: (1) medical - consisting of direct medical problems and pre-existent/coexistent medical problems that are aggravated by pregnancy, (2) underlying - social and legal conditions, and (3) health systems laws and policies that address availability, accessibility, and quality of reproductive health services (PHP et al, 2011).

Since the beginning of time gender inequality has been an obstacle towards the human development of countries around the world. The Human Development Index was created to showcase the average achievement of males and females. However, females have been oppressed of their opportunities throughout time, which contradicts the main idea of the Human Development Index. To understand the difference between developed and developing countries and the reason for the gender gap between males and females there need to be an understanding of the indicators that are addressed through the key dimensions of Gender Inequality which include reproductive health, education and political representation. Through the use of the indicators, gender inequality demonstrates that there are variations within developed nations such as Norway and a developing nation such as Cameroon. Although gender inequality is present in both countries, the Human Development Index indicates that the developed country Norway is more advanced in regards of gender inequality then the developing country Cameroon. The development of a country does not completely reflect the position of gender inequality; but it is evident through the indicators of life expectancy, birth rate, education and economic status that a more developed country is more advanced in reducing gender equality.

In an effort to combat these structural impediments, parliaments across the globe have adopted proportional representation (PR) systems. Implementing gender mainstreaming practices have increased the amount of women holding parliamentary seats worldwide. “Non-PR countries only average 13.3 percentage rates. PR countries boast a much higher office holding rate at 20.7 percent respectively.” (Renzetti, Curran, Maier 2012: 312-313).

In a pluralist country such as America, there are numerous opinions over what society's goals should be, and the best method of achieving them. In theory, every American citizen has an equal say in the political affairs of this county. By participating in politics, people air their voices and thereby contribute to nation through representatives, hence the term representative democracy. It may seem to be beyond argument that political participation is a key objective in all democratic institutions. However, there is room for legitimate disagreement about the health of our democracy, in regards to the extent of civic participation. This raises the important question of how much participation there actually

If more women were in higher governmental power, additional action would be taken to improve the government and the world in general. Women have always been considered a follower of men since the beginning of time. However, women are being politically elected to be head of state and government, they are leaders of countries and role models for the younger generations. More than 20 countries currently have a woman holding office as the head of a national government, and the global participation rate of women in national-level parliaments is nearly 20%. In addition, women are highly devoted to promoting national and local policies that address the socioeconomic and political challenges facing women, children, and disadvantaged

“In November 2015, new PM Justin Trudeau made headlines around the world when he chose a cabinet made up of 50% women. Yet this in fact constituted only 30% of the women Liberal MP's elected in 2015. In the 2015 federal election, Canadians elected 88 female MP's, or 26% of all MP's in the House. But this represented only a 1% increase from 2011, when 25% of all MP's elected were women”. As from the analysis, PM Justin Trudeau seemed to have figured out gender gap. Till today participation of women in politics is low not only in Canada, but also in other countries. According to a data compiled by Inter-Parliamentary Union(IPU) Canada ranked 59 amongst the 193 countries. Canada remained constant when it comes to bridge the gender gap for a very

First, I want to start by sharing my journey and how I became involved in politics. Early in life, I recognized America's economic disparity and I knew that this was a problem that could be solved and throughout the years that became my inspiration in politics. I attended Brooklyn college and after a year, I transferred to the University of Chicago. I then became involved in the civil rights movement during my university years. I was also a member of the congress of Racial Equality and participated in a sit-in against segregation of off-campus housing in 1962.

If women continue to be absent from politics and policy making, then women’s voices remain unheard when decisions are made about their lives, bodies, and futures. Further explanation of the impact of this problem can be understood by observing the gender gap between men and women in voter turnout. The gender gap in voting, is between 4 and 10% (Diekman & Schneider, 2010). This relatively small difference can have a large impact in elections and can change entire outcomes of political campaigns (Diekman & Schneider, 2010). For example, when voters report an interest in areas that have historically been considered women’s issues, such as reproductive rights, candidates are more likely to emphasize those issues during their campaigns (Diekman & Schneider, 2010). This example highlights that without increased political participation from women, the continued passage of legislation that positively effects women and girls may be effected. The impact of more women being engaged in politics and political democracy is that it may inspire more women to pursue it. Research has shown that women are more knowledgeable about politics when a woman candidates are on ballot tickets. According to Karp (2008) the presence of women as candidates or as policy-makers’ influences women’s engagement because when women hold elected seats, women’s policy issues are passed in legislatures. A secondary benefit is that more women in positions of power may be a symbolic cue to society that politics isn’t just a “man’s game” (Karp,

Anne Murray states that, “Women’s health is so much more than medical issues; it is cultural, political, economic, and above all, an issue of social justice” (From Outrage to Courage, 2008, p.1). Women’s health is an issue of social justice in a sense that fairness and equality should be primordial in the health care system. Social justice aims to support the wellbeing of all individuals regardless of differences. Unfortunately, little has been done to promote and improve women’s health. An analysis of social and economic circumstances that affect women’s health in development reveals that: inequality in health care in terms of poor health and poverty affect the health of women. In Amnesty International, “Deadly Delivery” and “From Outrage

In 2003, the women of Rwanda gained a significant achievement in the means of being able to participate in government and reform efforts. A referendum was enacted in the country’s constitution that enforced that 30% representation of women in the levels of government (Powley). In the most recent 2013 election, in the lower house of the Rwandan parliament, women were elected to hold 64% of the seats while women were elected to hold 38.5% of the seats in the upper house (Republic of Rwanda). According to the Republic of Rwanda official website, these statistics rank Rwanda as #1 in the world for the highest number of women in parliament. These facts truly highlight the role of women today. As well, the influence of women go beyond political roles as they are also holding crucial positions of leadership in business, education, health, and other sectors affecting the lives of all Rwandans (Republic of Rwanda).

This goal focuses on specific topic areas that address a wide range of conditions, health systems, and health behaviors in order to improve wellness, health, and quality of life for women. The healthcare system has to be prepared for the challenges in public health for maternal and child health program predicted for the next generation in the way that it provides services for communities, health care systems, and families. The role of public health is to find out how to solve problems related to health risks for pregnancy by identifying existing health risks in women and by preventing future health problem for women and their children. These health risks include hypertension and heart disease, diabetes, depression, tobacco use, alcohol abuse, unhealthy weight, inadequate nutrition, and genetic conditions. There are several factors that may become barriers of access for women in the healthcare system. One factor is the woman’s socioeconomic level, with the outcomes for maternal and child health becoming different for various socioeconomic levels. Poor maternal health may increase the risk of poor child health outcomes, and the socioeconomic status of the child’s parents affects their choice of healthcare options, such as receiving better quality medical care and food, as well as living in safer housing and neighborhoods. Many other factors that can also affect

While motherhood is often a positive and fulfilling experience, far too many women end up exposed to the dangers of suffering, ill-health and even death. Around the world, many women have a high risk of death during pregnancy and during motherhood if under financial pressure. According to the World Health Organization (2015), approximately 830 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth every day. Maternity mortality has grown to become an epidemic especially in rural areas and among poorer communities. Our concluded goal, as discussed below, is to assess and improve the health of maternal women under 20 with low income statuses. This will be done under Raising Hope, a program designed to assist young, economic unstable mothers/mothers to be. It is rather sad to note that high teen birth rates acquire great importance due to the

In 2013, 289 000 women died during pregnancy and childbirth and it was estimated that everyday 800 women all over the world died from childbirth or childbirth-related problems (World Health Organization, 2014). Often, maternal mortality is found to occur more often in developing countries than developed countries. Maternal mortality refers women who died from the situation like during pregnancy, termination of pregnancy within 42 days, regardless of duration and place of pregnancy, from aggravation caused by the pregnancy or pregnancy management (Nwagha et al, 2010). Maternal mortality may be resulted from direct or indirect cause. Direct causes are from obstetric complications of pregnancy, labour, and puerperium, and interventions whereas indirect causes are from the worsening of current conditions by pregnancy or delivery (Givewell, 2009). This paper aims to examine the causes for maternal mortality in both developed and developing countries and will end with a proposal for government to ensure women are given reproductive health rights.

These are defined as the conditions in which people work, play, grow, live that affect wide range of health and quality of life. The determinants like socio-economic status, race, ethnicity, social capital, behavioral factors (e.g., tobacco use, maternal smoking), biological and psychosocial factors (e.g., family and peer social support) which greatly affects the inequalities among minorities in infant mortality and birth outcomes (Kim, 2013). In order to understand the social determinants impacting infant mortality and birth outcomes, it is important to understand the conceptual framework of societal to individual level determinants of infant mortality and birth outcomes. Conceptual framework includes identifying social determinants at mirco, meso and macro levels. This in turn will help in interpreting patterns of disparities in infant mortality and birth outcomes among blacks. Social conditions consists of where people work, play, age, born, live etc. which depends on their race, ethnicity, gender, social capital, socio-economic status. Macroeconomic determinants include income inequality, which directly affect the infant mortality rates. Income inequality means household income and unemployment for women. In order to reduce the incidences of infant mortality, reducing the income inequalities and generating employment and increasing economic growth among women of childbearing age will help to achieve the desired outcome. Access to prenatal care also influenced by social

Globally, maternal health is an issue that has not been given adequate attention in many regions. Many women across the world are unable to avoid many preventable health consequences of pregnancy, which are usually extreme enough to result in death. In the Latin American region, Bolivia has some of the worst maternal health care systems, due to the underdevelopment of healthcare practices, insufficient political and social concern, and a lack of public awareness. Maternal deaths are attributable to risks caused by pregnancy and childbirth themselves, as well as from the lack of proper, good quality health services (Khan,