PESHAWAR, Dec 29: Proper training of female health workers could equip and enable them to help save the lives of women dying due to post-partum haemorrhage (PPH) and other related diseases during childbirth.

“Over 80 per cent of deliveries occur at homes in rural communities and 70 per cent are being conducted by unskilled birth attendants in the country,” experts said during the second meeting of MNH steering committee of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The meeting was organised by Khwendo Kor at Directorate General Health Services here on Saturday.

Ms Nazra Saeed and Hafeezullah Khattak of Khwendo Kor, Dr Kamran from Unicef, Dil Nawaz, Dr Noor and others attended the meeting presided over by DG health.

During his presentation, Dr Khattak said that according to demographic and household survey (2006-07) and multiple indicators cluster survey (2009) in Fata, the maternal mortality rate (MMR) per 100,000 per year stood at 785 in Balochistan, 380 Fata, 314 Sindh, 275 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 227 Punjab and 201 in AJK.

He said that globally over 350,000 women died every year from preventable complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. Pakistan’s rank is the third highest in this regard.

He said that there were many reasons for deaths of pregnant women during childbirth, but the PPH (severe bleeding after birth) was the major cause of such deaths. The participants called for timely use of prescribed medicines included in the provincial drug list for prevention and treatment of the PPH. —Bureau Report