The Maternal Mortality Rate Of Afghanistan Essay

Being a woman in Afghanistan is hard for so many reasons but some of the reasons are that over half the Afghan girls are married or at least engaged by the age of 12. 60% of the Afghan girls are married actually married by the age of 16 and up to 80% of the marriages in the poor/rural areas are arranged or forced marriages. The men these young girls marry are usually a lot older, some of the men even in their 60’s or older and the girls might not meet the man they were arranged or forced to marry till the actual day of the wedding. With the widespread of poverty parents arrange marriages for their young daughters for many reasons like to repay debt, solve a dispute, to get rid of them so they don’t have to support them, they even do it to reduce

World Health Organization. (2011, November). More midwives needed to improve maternal and newborn survival. Retrieved October 25, 2017, from

99% of these deaths occur in developing countries, mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Improving maternal health is the 5th of the 8 Goals adopted by the international community in 2000. Under MDG5, all nations pledged to reduce maternal mortality by 75% in 15 years (1990-2015). Since 1990, maternal deaths worldwide have dropped by 45% (WHO, 2014).

As one of the poorest countries globally, Sierra Leone struggles to improve their standard of maternal health. With one women dying every two minutes due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth, those who become pregnant in developing countries face extreme challenges (everymothercounts.org). Whether it may be ineffective medical care or noxious diseases such as HIV, "One in every 21 women is at risk of death in childbirth" (the guardian.com). Professionals in other countries are working towards providing educational opportunities for women and their families so that they may care for themselves. The prevalence of contraception, being around 11 percent, is extremely low in comparison to other nations but is one of the most influential aspects of the cultural

Many Afghan women are horrifically losing their lives during or after childbirth. The trend in that country is to have as many children as possible so they have a greater chance in getting into heaven. Men in that country act opprobrious in American terms because they don’t care about the wellbeing of the mother of all the children. The prescience of the death of the mother could be helped, but the methods are not commodious for everyone. Sadly this trend is not an aberration and many fatal pregnancies go without proper care of the mother. There are many apropos ways that women are being helped in this patriarchal country such as more hospitals, advancing medical fields and more

To conclude, the Afghan Girl wasn't an ordinary photo, its an iconic image of being a refugee. It showed the world, the reality of a refugee and it successfully aided Afghanistan refugee problem. Sharbat, may not know but she is a icon to Afghanistan and the world. It gave people the power to survive and motivated them to do something or face your problems and be strong. These photographs shows the world on how tragedy befalls on people who are living in war-ravaged regions. It shows us that life is not always easy and its okay, we must accept it and survive.

“Maternal health refers to the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period” (sec. 5.2). Mothers play significant roles in the outcome of infants. It is important to remember that the health of a mother is significantly important, even before the woman becomes pregnant. Maintaining an adequate diet, and performing regular physical activities is essential in maintaining a healthy life. Poor health conditions lead to higher risk of chronic diseases and ultimately complicates pregnancies. Data shows that “287,000 women died due to pregnancy or childbirth-related complications in 2010” (Data, statistics and epidemiology, n.d., p. 1). It appears that the trend has decreased in 2013, compared to the results that were reported in 1990. Deaths that occurred typically occurred in low-resource settings, but were typically caused by “hemorrhage, hypertension, infections, and indirect causes, mostly due to interaction between pre-existing medical conditions and pregnancy” (Maternal mortality, n.d., para. 1). A majority of these situations could have been prevented.

In the given article, “Many Afghans Lost to Hazards Of Childbirth”, the issue is thought to be caused by the current lack of medical care in the country. However, I believe that this situation will not change to a higher standard unless the people themselves change their ways.

Women and children have been suffering in Afghanistan due to civil war that has been devastating the country. Afghanistan has the second highest infant mortality rate in the world; and most babies born premature die shortly afterwards. The documentary tells the story of Dr. Qudrat Mojadidi, who came to the United States from Afghanistan in 1972. In 2003, he is invited by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Department to return to Kabul and help rehabilitate Rabia Balkhi Hospital, the largest women's hospital in the country.

Being a woman in Afghanistan has to be one of the most difficult things in the world to be. Why would you not want to be anything than what you were meant to be? I’ll tell you why, mistreatment, rape, being beaten, disrespected, and treated like you are nothing, being a woman should never mean being less than a human being.

Afghanistan has a population of approximately 31 million people, making it the 42nd most crowded country in the world. It is situated within the southern region of Asia. Due to its location, it is classified as a land locked country, that is entirely enclosed by land and closed seas; therefore it negatively affects their trade sale goods. Thus, it makes Afghanistan one of the poorest countries in the world.

Around the world, 830 women die every day from preventable complications during pregnancy and delivery (“Maternal mortality” 1). A death during a pregnancy or within 42 days of delivery is referred to as a maternal death (Semba and Bloem 34). The issue of maternal death in developing countries is an often unaddressed and urgent need. Things like poverty, a lack of access to quality healthcare, and cultural practices are causing maternal mortality rates in developing countries to be unnecessarily high (“Leading and underlying causes of maternal mortality” 1). Mothers in developing countries are needlessly dying, but organizations like Delivering Hope International (DHI) have heard their cry and rushed to provide the tools and care these women so desperately need.

One of the main target goals of the maternal, infant, and child health of Healthy People 2020 is to reduce that number to 5.9 deaths out of every 1,000 live births and fetal deaths (Healthy People 2020).

But the maternal mortality rate is still 327 per 100,000 births--far better than in 2002, when it stood at 1,600 per 100,000 (“Liberation”). Although the mortality rate has gone down drastically since 2002, the mortality rate is still very high. If more women are educated in their own health and anatomy, childbirth and pregnancy would be much safer. , it would substantially lower the mortality rate of babies. Clearly, equal education would improve the health of women in the Middle East.

The intervention was selected because the issues being addressed pertain to many developing countries. The majority of maternal deaths occur due to the lack of care, training, and aseptic equipment; thus resulting in issues of hemorrhage and sepsis that cause maternal death. In addition, the intervention does not focus merely on the idea of public health officials completing all tasks of the intervention. The intervention is ran by the community per say. The public health officials train a select few