5.2k women die during pregnancy annually

Early marriage, lack of health facilities cost Punjab dearly

LAHORE:

Around 5,200 women of Punjab are among an estimated 11,000 who die due to complications related to pregnancy every year in the country.

A fact sheet of the Population Council, updated on the International Women Day, shows that ratio of deaths during pregnancy in Punjab is alarming and higher as compared to other provinces.

Officials of the council said during a meeting held to mark the day it was noted that early marriages, shortage of hospitals and other health facilities and also lack of awareness about family planning were the reasons of high mortality rate among pregnant women.

They highlighted the need for all government departments concerned to play their role to save the lives of women.

The Population Council shared the fact sheet about issues related to women.

The officials said the document was based on the latest calculations and surveys of various government departments working on the health, education and population issues.

The fact sheet about the death toll of pregnant women also contains the latest findings of the national nutrition and labour force surveys.

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"The purpose of releasing the fact sheet this week is to highlight female health issues and their solution," an official said.

Meanwhile, the International Women Day was marked by several discussions, seminars, rallies and workshops.

Deaths during pregnancy and torture on females were again the hot topics of debate. Speakers at the Population Council seminar expressed concern over fatalities during pregnancy and early marriages of girls.

"Early marriages and lack of access to health facilities, including government hospitals, not following family planning methods and wish for sons are the basic reasons of the highest death ratio of women in Punjab." Population Council Project Director Samiya Ali Shah said. She said the untrained lady health workers in villages of the province were another factor behind deaths during pregnancy.

There is a need for education about health, pregnancy-related issues and family planning, she said.

She added that if women followed family planning and the government provided health facilities then the mortality rate among pregnant women could be curbed.

She said another alarming fact was that 62 of every 1,000 childbirths in the country resulted in deaths. The reason is lack of family planning and care for women's health.

Samiya Ali Shah said only a healthy woman could prove to be a good mother and play her role in the country's development.

She added that girls and women were also facing various forms of violence in society and lack of equal access to education and technology.

Population Council Senior Director Dr Ali Mir said many countries had curbed the fatality rate of pregnant women by addressing the family planning and early marriage issues. "We should learn from the examples of other countries.

"The population, especially that of females, is increasing and we should provide quality health facilities to them," he added.

United Nations Population Fund Programme Specialist Dr Jamil Ahmad said lives of women could be saved by family planning and men should play their role in this regard as heads of families. He said the situation had improved in recent years but 11,000 women in Pakistan, including 5,200 in Punjab, died annually and the figure needed to be reduced.

"We have the best facilities at our hospitals but majority of the women who died in hospitals had arrived there at the last stage after local midwives and quacks had mishandled their treatment."

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 14^th, 2022.