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WHO / PERINATAL DEATHS
STORY: WHO / PERINATAL DEATHS
TRT: 03:15
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 16 AUGUST 2016, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / FILE
FILE - APRIL 2014, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
1. Med shot, pregnant women outside health centre
2. Various shots, pregnant woman during medical consultation
16 AUGUST 2016, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Ian Askew, Director of Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organization (WHO):
“First of all we have developed a classification system that links the reason for the new-born death to conditions in the mother during her pregnancy and before. And secondly we have developed a process by which the deaths can be recorded and then reviewed by a country to better understand what happened and to take appropriate action to prevent further deaths in the future.”
FILE - DECEMBER 2014, GUINEA
4. Med shot, pregnant woman during medical consultation
5. Various shots, doctor during consultation
16 AUGUST 2016, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Ian Askew, Director of Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organization (WHO):
“It’s critically important to count these births and deaths, to record them, and to know why it has happened. So many times, the death can be attributed to a direct cause that we know about, and we know how to then deal with it. But without that information, countries are not able to best develop the services to be able to respond to this and be able to prevent these tragedies.”
FILE - MARCH 2016, EL SALVADOR
7. Wide shot, waiting room
8. Med shot, pregnant woman talking to nurse
9. Med shot, pregnant woman during t medical consultation
10. Zoom out, ultrasound being performed
16 AUGUST 2016, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Ian Askew, Director of Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Every year there are 2.6 million still births, and 2.7 million babies that die in the first month after being born, this is the a real tragedy because the vast majority of these could be prevented.”
FILE - MARCH 2016, EL SALVADOR
12. Med shot, pregnant women waiting
13. Wide shot, pregnant women in hospital beds with mosquito nets
14. Med shot, doctor checking on pregnant woman
16 AUGUST 2016, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Ian Askew, Director of Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organization (WHO):
“In many cases it might be the mother wasn’t able to get to the facility on time, we know that some of these deaths are caused by infection in the mother during pregnancy, for example malaria perhaps, or syphilis. We also know that it may be an issue with the way in which the new-born’s heart is developing, and if we are not able to correctly follow that, that might also contribute to these deaths.
So, from our perspective, it is very important that all of these different reasons are well documented.”
FILE - MARCH 2016, EL SALVADOR
16. Wide shot, neonatal ward
17. Med shot, baby in incubator
18. Med shot, mother with baby
19. Med shot, baby in incubator
16 AUGUST 2016, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Ian Askew, Director of Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Despite progress over the last few years, we know that over 300,000 women die giving birth every year. We know, far more about this however because in the last few years, there has been in place in many, many countries what is known as maternal death surveillance review system. This system allows countries to record and report on the cause of the death and then these death reviews are discussed and reviewed by an expert committee in each country and this committee makes recommendations and puts things into place to make new ways of improving the quality of care of services received by pregnant women, thereby making sure they are more likely to survive.”
FILE - JULY 2013, FINLAND
21. Various shots, mothers and young children
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the true magnitude of stillbirths and maternal and neonatal deaths are being underreported. Every year, worldwide, 303,000 women die during pregnancy and childbirth, 2.7 million babies die during the first 28 days of life and 2.6 million babies are stillborn.
Today (16 Aug) the WHO is launching three publications to help countries improve their data on stillbirths and maternal and neonatal deaths.
Ian Askew, Director of Reproductive Health and Research at WHO, said “we have developed a classification system that links the reason for the new-born death to conditions in the mother during her pregnancy and before” as well as “a process by which the deaths can be recorded and then reviewed by a country to better understand what happened and to take appropriate action to prevent further deaths in the future.”
Nearly all babies who are stillborn and half of all new-born deaths are not recorded in a birth or death certificate, and thus have never been registered, reported or investigated by the health system. As a result, countries often do not know the numbers of deaths or the causes of these deaths and thus are unable to take the effective and timely actions to prevent others babies and mothers from dying.
Askew said “it’s critically important to count these births and deaths, to record them, and to know why it has happened. So many times, the death can be attributed to a direct cause that we know about, and we know how to then deal with it. But without that information, countries are not able to best develop the services to be able to respond to this and be able to prevent these tragedies.”
Most stillbirths and neonatal deaths are preventable with quality health care during pregnancy and childbirth.
Askew said “every year there are 2.6 million still births, and 2.7 million babies that die in the first month after being born, this is the a real tragedy because the vast majority of these could be prevented.”
Official reports underestimate the true magnitude of maternal mortality by up to 30 percent worldwide and 70percent in some countries.
Askew said “in many cases it might be the mother wasn’t able to get to the facility on time, we know that some of these deaths are caused by infection in the mother during pregnancy, for example malaria perhaps, or syphilis. We also know that it may be an issue with the way in which the new-born’s heart is developing, and if we are not able to correctly follow that, that might also contribute to these deaths. So, from our perspective, it is very important that all of these different reasons are well documented.”
WHO is also participating in a global multi-partner effort to improve the quality of health information, including data on maternal and child health, through the Health Data Collaborative. More than 30 global health organizations are contributing to the development of a user-friendly package of guidance and tools designed to strengthen countries’ health information systems.
Askew said that “despite progress, over the last few years, we know that over 300,000 women die giving birth every year. We know, far more about this however because in the last few years, there has been in place in many, many countries what is known as maternal death surveillance review system. This system allows countries to record and report on the cause of the death and then these death reviews are discussed and reviewed by an expert committee in each country and this committee makes recommendations and puts things into place to make new ways of improving the quality of care of services received by pregnant women, thereby making sure they are more likely to survive.”
The first publication, the "WHO Application of the International Classification of Disease-10 to deaths during the perinatal period" (ICD-PM), is a standardized system for classifying stillbirths and neonatal deaths.
The second publication, "Making Every Baby Count: Audit and Review of Stillbirths and Neonatal Deaths", is a guide to help countries review and investigate individual deaths so they can recommend and implement solutions to prevent similar ones in the future.
The third WHO publication, "Time to respond: a report on the global implementation of maternal death surveillance and response", helps countries strengthen their maternal mortality review process in hospitals and clinics.
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