Saving mothers’ lives

Saving mothers' lives.

In the triennium 2006–2008, 261 women in the UK died directly or indirectly related to pregnancy. The overall maternal mortality rate was 11.39 per 100,000 maternities. Direct deaths decreased from 6.24 per 100,000 maternities in 2003–2005 to 4.67 per 100,000 maternities in 2006–2008 (p = 0.02). This decline is predominantly due to the reduction in deaths from thromboembolism and, to a lesser e...

Saving Mothers’ Lives in Sri Lanka

I n t e r v e n t i o n o r P r o g r a m : Beginning in the 1950s, the government of Sri Lanka made special efforts to extend health services, including critical elements of maternal health care, through a widespread rural health network. Sri Lanka’s success in reducing maternal deaths is attributed to widespread access to maternal health care, which is built upon a strong health system that p...

Saving money, saving lives.

In 1996, Duke Children's Hospital was in serious trouble. Its $11 million annual operating loss had forced administrators to make cutbacks. As a result, some caregivers felt that the quality of care had deteriorated. Parents' complaints were on the rise. Frustrated staff members were quitting. In this article, Jon Meliones, DCH's chief medical director, candidly describes how his debt-ridden ho...

Saving mothers' lives: the 2006-8 anaesthesia perspective.

The individual stories of maternal death, documented in Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths, are tragic and compelling, and have informed many recommendations in the past half-century that have improved maternal and neonatal outcomes in the UK and probably, around the world. The individual stories continue with the recent publication of the Eighth Report of the Confidential Enquiries in...

In the Balance: Saving the Lives of Mothers, Newborns & Children