1. MATERNAL HEALTH IN
DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES
Britney Heim

2. Objectives:
 Discuss the factors of maternal mortality
 How does this happen?
 What are the barriers?
 What is the ethical issue with maternal
mortality.

3. What is the issue?
 In developing nations, women die at high
rates
 Maternal mortality
 99% of women who die in developing
countries

5. What causes maternal
mortality?
 Cultural attitudes
 Access to health services
 Lack of funding for programs
 Social barriers

6. Access to services
 Survey of 360,000 women
 42countires
 Sudan- 77.4%
 Egypt- 34.6%
 Why not seek services?
 Education
 Economics

7. Cultural Influence
 Female circumcision
 At least 100,00 women are circumcised
 Birthing issues
 Abortion
 20 million unsafe abortions/year
 60,000 to 1000,000 women die as a result

8. Ethical Consequences
 Give women an opportunity to decide
 Rights theory

9. Citations
 Bernstein, P.S., and A. Rosenfield. "Abortion and Mental
Health." International Journal Gynecology and Obsterics 631 Dec. (1998): 1
par. Science Direct. Web. 16 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0020729298001933>.
 Cleland, John G., von Ginneker, Jerome K.“Maternal Educatin and Child
Survival in Developing Countries: The Search for Pathways of Influene,”
Social and MedicineVol. 27, Issue 2 (28 June,1988 )pg. 1357-1368
 Mann, Charles“Women's Health Research Blossoms,” Science , New
Series, Vol. 269, No. 5225 (Aug. 11, 1995), pp. 766-770Published
by: American Association for the Advancement of Science Article Stable
URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2888473
 Toubia, Nahio. "Female Circumcision as a Public Health Issue." The New
England Journal of Medicine 15 Sept. (1995). Web. 15 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199409153311106>.