Maternal & Child Health - Research Paper Example

Pregnancy related health problems can be prevented or managed without recourse to expensive and sophisticated technology. Experience has shown that maternal and neonatal morbidity can be reduced when communities are informed about danger signs and symptoms and good quality health care is accessible with a backup referral system for managing complications at a higher level of the health care system. And yet some 500,000 maternal deaths occur each year, most of them in developing countries. One of the major reasons for increased maternal deaths in developing countries is lack of education among mothers and pregnant women.

It should be noted that literacy percentage among women in developing countries are lesser than that among men. As a result of that, the majority of women do not know how to manage their pregnancy as well as child care. For example, proper food and nutrients are necessary for the mothers not only during their pregnancy period but also after the delivery. This is because of the fact that breast milk is the major food for the infants during early days and only a healthy mother will be able to provide enough breast milk to her infant.

At the time of breast feeding, the mother should take enough healthy foods and nutrients so that her health, as well as the health of her infant, would be protected properly. However, in developing countries, the majority of mothers are not much interested in taking good food after the delivery and thereby generate severe health problems.