Maternal deaths: A 30-rupee medicine could be potential lifesaver, says aid agency

Mercy Corps says Misoprostol needs to be introduced at grassroots.

ISLAMABAD:

Figures in Pakistan have soared to an estimated 276 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births recorded and Mercy Corps Pakistan says it cannot be slashed until drastic measures are taken to educate parents.

Mercy Corps, a global aid agency, have urged provincial governments to reach out to communities and ask mothers to use Misoprostal — Rs30 drug used to prevent and treat postpartum hemorrhage (PPH).



Addressing a group of journalists on Friday, Mercy Corps Project Officer Dr Farahnaz said 65 per cent of births in Pakistan take place at homes out of which an alarming 27.2 per cent of maternal deaths are caused by PPH.

With 52 per cent of home births attended by traditional midwives, there is a dire need for skilled birth attendants to reduce maternal health morbidity and mortality, she said, adding that the lack of expertise often ends up in the mother losing blood while giving birth.

“At that critical point, if the right drug — Misoprostol — is not given to the mother, she bleeds excessively and can even lose her life,” she said.

The drug was included in the World Health Organisation’s essential drugs list in 2011 and a year later, Pakistan had also followed suit by including it in its own list.

Despite three pharmaceutical companies producing it, the gap between demand and supply of Misoprostol still remains a challenge.

Shoaib Ahmed, another Mercy Corps official, said the training of midwives at the community level was still a challenge that needed to be addressed on an urgent basis.

“There are not enough doctors. Even those studying to become doctors would not work at the community level and that is where the main problem lies” he said. “That is why clinics in remote areas need to have trained midwives as their integral part.”



While the Millennium Development Goals focus on “improving maternal health” by reducing the maternal mortality ratio and achieving universal access to reproductive health by 2015, it seems Pakistan, with third highest estimated number of maternal deaths, is still far from meeting its targets.

Every year, globally, more than 350,000 women die from preventable complications related to pregnancy and childbirth.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 9^th, 2013.