Maternal deaths tied to infections

[NewsWhore]

The Ministry of Public Health has revealed that nearly half the deaths in childbirth are related to infections contracted in clinics and hospitals. Deputy Minister Nelson Rodriguez told reporters from Listin Diario that the ministry's data shows that 100 mothers die for every 100,000 births and, of these deaths, nearly half (45%) are linked to infections contracted in the health center where the mother gave birth. In the past, post-partum bleeding was the principal cause of death in these cases, but a new strategy using emergency room techniques for birthing has reduced these deaths significantly. The nation's goal is to reduce maternity deaths to 44.5 per 100,000 births by 2015. According to the public health spokesperson, these deaths by infection are attributable only to a lack of proper hygiene in the medical facilities where the patient died. This is a serious issue, especially as the data also shows that over 98% of all births take place in some sort of institutional setting, whether public or private. Previous reports have pointed to the increasing number of Haitian mothers arriving to give birth in Dominican hospital emergency rooms, without the medics being able to know of any possible complications leading into the birth. Birthing problems arising from these births is also reflected in local statistics.

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