Maternal Health, The Country Must Do Better

Haiti - Social : Maternal Health, the country must do better...
(Haiti Libre) - 25/02/2015 10:42:59

Despite Haiti's efforts to reach the goal 5 of the Millennium Development Goals, which aims to reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality and achieve universal access to pro-creative medicine from 2015, the progress achieved are insufficient to achieve the objectives successfully.

The maternal mortality rate has dropped by 43% since 1990, but not enough to reach the goal by 2015. With 350 deaths per 1,000 women, Haiti has a maternal mortality rate well above the average for the continent (190 per 1000 in the Caribbean and 72 per 1,000 in Latin America).

Almost two thirds of births are still without the assistance of qualified personnel in obstetrics. Despite a trend of deliveries assisted clearly on the rise, which increased from 21% in 1995 to 37% in 2012, regional disparities remain considerable. Only 18% of births in the Grande-Anse are assisted by trained medical personnel, against 64% in the metropolitan area.

Although the gap between rural and urban areas has narrowed in the space of 17 years, it is still important. The proportion of women who have been examined at least four times during pregnancy, as recommended by WHO, has increased substantially between 1995 and 2012, from 36% to 67%. However, Haiti remains below the average for Latin America (89%) and the Caribbean (72%), but above the regional average for sub-Saharan Africa (49%) and South Asia (36%) .

Women's access to the pro-creative medicine remains insufficient, in particular, the rate of contraceptive use remains very limited in Haiti. Only 35% of women married or in union, between 15 and 49 years, use some form of contraception, while the world average in developing countries is 62%. However, we note a marked prevalence of modern contraceptive methods: 31% of women using a contraceptive, choose a modern method.

The problem of teenage pregnancy remains a significant factor in maternal and child health, n fact, teenage pregnancies are dangerous for both mother and child, and keep at a level high. The teenage rates between 15 and 19 years who are already mothers or pregnant with their first child, has stagnated at 14% since 2006, one young girl on 7. In addition to its negative impact on maternal and child health, early pregnancy also play a role on the education of girls, limiting student retention.

The unmet need for family planning declined 10 points since 1995, but demand is growing among the younger generations. In 2012, 35% of women aged 15-49 married or in union, had unmet need for family planning, that is to say they want to limit or space births but are not using any method of contraception. This rate is well ahead of global trends, with an average of 13% for developing countries. The highest rates for Oceania regions (25%) and sub-Saharan Africa (25%).

57% of girls aged 15-19 have unmet needs, indicating a mismatch between their desire to birth control and access to contraceptive methods. Among women aged 45-49, 24% of women have unmet needs for family planning. This indicator reflects the many challenges that remain to ensure universal access to pro-creative medicine in Haiti.