women who come from a poor family and have only a little access to employment and education are more prone to experience the death of the child at birth than others, as per a study which mapped global patterns of still births.
The study has been published in Science reports. In the report, the researchers from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, said that about 2.6 million still births happen every year. This number is high when the numbers of neonatal deaths and under five mortality rates have come down.
The researchers also noted that child deaths at delivery are likely in countries where gender inequality is high. It is high where women face financial hurdles and are denied education and empl;oyment, te report said.
As per the model dee4veloped by the researchers, they had assesses data from 194 countries. In the research, it was also found that pregnant women having high deficiency of iron are also at risk of still births. Moreover, lack of health care during pre birth and lack of access to good and skilled health professionals such as doctors, nurses and midwives also attribute to still births, the study said.
The report said that Africa and Southern Asia were the “hotspots” of still births. It pointed out that Pakistan and Nigeria recorded at least 43 deaths for every 1000 births, This figure is much higher than the 12 deaths per 1000 births as per the World Health Assembly Every Newborn Action Plan. Meanwhile Canada, Northern Asia, Europe are also said to be “cold spots’, where low still births have been reported.
Meanwhile, reports quoted Nazeem Muhajarine of the University as saying that there was a need for a cultural change to address the “hot spots”. He said that there was a need to provide better health care facilities such as hospital facilities and the service of skilled professionals. He also pointed out that one should ensure that pregnant women have access to better education, employment and good food. It should also be seen that women are not married off at an early age, he said and added that these women should also have access to good pre birth care.
