Free Essay with Maternal and Child Health Policy Memo

Defining the problem: The Maternal and Child Health problem is a policy to reduce mortality as well as morbidity rate among women at the time of pregnancy as well as after childbirth

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The problem statement

As per the recent estimates, every year there are more than 600,000 women from the ages of 15 to 49 die due to pregnancy and childbirth-related causes; as such have been recorded as the leading source of death among female gender. Nearly all maternal deaths happen in the less developing world, and this is more than half take place in Africa. The vast mainstream of such kind of deaths can be prevented. However, researchers have as well estimated that over 45% of pregnant women have incidences of obstetric disorders which are not instantly fatal (Pickens et al., 2018). Furthermore, about 20 percent of births are complex by a potentially deadly condition which needs emergency care.

Policy options to address the problem statement

There are various policy options which are vital to address mortality as well as morbidity rate among women at the time of pregnancy as well as after childbirth. The first one is that there should be a program of effective prenatal care. From the World Health Organization (WHO), it recommends that all expectant mothers have to be given at least four antenatal hospital visits for checking and monitoring the health of both the mother as well as the health of the fetus. This will be the prudent way that will see prevention and reduction of mortality and the morbidity rate among women at the time of pregnancy and after childbirth.

Second, mothers during delivery should be attended by skilled birth personnel along with the emergency support such as nurses, doctors with the midwives who possess skills of managing normal deliveries and are well-known with the inception of any delivery complications. By so doing, it will reduce these issues of premature deaths among expectant mothers and after childbirth (Wiegerinck et al., 2018).

Third, there should be an emergency obstetric for proper care in addressing the primary cause of maternal death which is sepsis, hemorrhage, unsafe abortion, obstructed labor as well as hypertensive disorders. This will limit and reduce stresses among expectant mothers and will automatically lead to safe delivery.

Additionally, the Maternal Response and Death Surveillance and is another strategy which is considerable in preventing maternal death. This is one of the interventions that are proposed to minimize maternal mortality in which the maternal deaths are incessantly reviewed to find out the factors and causes which led to such uncertain death.

My proposed intervention

I would propose that postnatal care is also very much crucial and it happens six weeks after delivery. Thus during such time sepsis, hypertensive disorders and bleeding always take place thus making newborns tremendously vulnerable in the instantaneous aftermath of such birth. For that reason, follow-up and visits by specialists in assessing the health of both the child and the mother in the postnatal phase are strongly significant. By so doing will assist those mothers especially from rural areas who cannot access health centers to be addressed while at their respective homes. Sometimes death occurs when accessing medical checkup is an issue, therefore; postnatal care at rural centers is the most appropriate way to deal with this menace.

Another intervention program is by minimizing risks for neonatal, maternal as well as fetal mortality regularly which would involve women behavioral changes. However, such women behavioral changes are very difficult to achieve. But to successfully achieve, there should be the availability of women information about pregnancy, healthy behaviors and risks factors (Pickens et al., 2018). Some examples of women behavioral changes include eating a healthy diet; not reproducing after attaining the age 35; avoiding or limiting alcohol consumption; using a bed net in protecting against malaria; stopping smoking; having a skilled birth attendant during labor as well as delivery period; and recognizing and acting promptly on symptoms of the most complicated delivery. This can be more effective through involving education of women by campaigns and counseling at the time of antenatal care. They could as well involve development and showing them movies which initiate changes in women's social behaviors.

Stakeholders Who Would Oppose the Proposed Intervention

The health sector is one of the wide sectors not only in the United States of America but other developed and developing nations. Therefore, every cause of death always raises a lot of concerns among stakeholders. My proposed intervention for the policy to reduce mortality as well as morbidity rate among women during pregnancy as well as after childbirth has not been well received by all stakeholders (Mwilike et al., 2018). Some of them are supporting while others are opposing. The government through Ministry of health is opposing with the following reasons. They say that the issue of postnatal care is costly, and as a government, it cannot fund it due to many programs that need money. It also says postnatal care needs the government through the ministry of health to employ more health personnel which also need more budget to set aside for such purpose.

Stakeholders Who Support the Proposed Intervention

Those who are supporting are such as World Health Organization (WHO) has said that it is a prudent idea that will reduce all possible cases of morbidity rate among women at the time of pregnancy and after childbirth. Another health stakeholder who would support this proposed intervention is United Nations Children's Fund (Persson & Persson, 2018). They would say that getting more funds to support postnatal care policy to reduce mortality and morbidity rate among women during pregnancy as well as after childbirth will be possible through well-wishers donation, nongovernmental organizations, and public fund collection drive. All these sources are manageable within scope and disposal of postnatal care policy.

Final Recommendation Based On Proposed Intervention

I would recommend that a postnatal care is as well very much crucial and it happens six weeks after delivery (Kankan et al., 2018). This is the best way of dealing with this issue since this Intervention program will see a substantial minimization of all possible risks for neonatal, maternal as well as fetal mortality regularly which would involve postnatal care. Despite having opposed by some stakeholders such as the government due to lacking sufficient funds to facilitate the program, women behavioral changes is a crucial element that should be considered. However, such women behavioral changes are very difficult to achieve. But to successfully achieve, there should be an availability of women information about pregnancy, healthy behaviors, and risks factors. As such result, the recommendations in this proposed intervention focus on strategies which have been proven to be most efficient and effective in clinical trials as well as in large comparable populations.

References

Kankan, N., Lumbiganon, P., Kietpeerakool, C., Sangkomkamhang, U., Betran, A. P., & Robson, M. (2018). Cesarean rates and severe maternal and neonatal outcomes according to the Robson 10Group Classification System in Khon Kaen Province, Thailand. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics, 140(2), 191-197.

Mwilike, B., Nalwadda, G., Kagawa, M., Malima, K., Mselle, L., & Horiuchi, S. (2018). Knowledge of danger signs during pregnancy and subsequent healthcare seeking actions among women in Urban Tanzania: a cross-sectional study. BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 18(1), 4.

Persson, M., & Persson, B. (2018). Maternal Overweight and Obesity in Pregnancies Complicated by Type 1 Diabetes. In Nutrition and Diet in Maternal Diabetes (pp. 49-58). Humana Press, Cham.

Pickens, C. M. G., Kramer, M. R., Howards, P. P., Badell, M. L., Caughey, A. B., & Hogue, C. J. (2018). Term Elective Induction of Labor and Pregnancy Outcomes Among Obese Women and Their Offspring. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 131(1), 12-22.

Wiegerinck, M. M., van der Goes, B. Y., Ravelli, A. C., van der Post, J. A., Buist, F. C., Tamminga, P., & Mol, B. W. (2018). Intrapartum and neonatal mortality among low-risk women in midwife-led versus obstetrician-led care in the Amsterdam region of the Netherlands: a propensity score matched study. BMJ Open, 8(1), e018845.