Barriers to Ending Maternal Deaths

Just when you think you've got it all figured out! I just read an article from AllAfrica.com about doctors in Ghana who have had to halt special prenatal home visits because road crash casualties are taking up so much of their time and scarce resources, medical workers say. According to the article, in March and April over 100 people died on one 15-kilometre stretch of road between the capital Accra and Winneba to the west, and road accidents are among the top causes of death in Ghana. Health workers in the area are having to divert their resources from maternal health initiatives to care for these critical injuries.

Though we know what works to prevent maternal deaths, we also know that we need to increase the number of skilled attendants for maternal and newborn care. When there aren't enough health workers to care for a country, women, and especially pregnant women, tend to fall to the bottom of the priority list. It's important to set up strong health systems that can tackle all the problems within a country... and, in this instance, set up a national road safety plan that all citizen adhere to!