A closer look at maternal health
Maternal health is one of the most critical factors affecting the health of mothers and babies worldwide. All women must have access to quality healthcare during pregnancy and childbirth to ensure their well-being and that of their children.
Unfortunately, many women still lack access to essential maternal health services. This article will explore critical issues related to maternal health, including the prevalence of poor maternal health outcomes and potential solutions for providing better care.
What is maternal health?
Maternal health is an essential public health issue affecting women of reproductive age and their children worldwide. It refers to a woman’s physical and mental well-being before, during, and after pregnancy. Maternal health encompasses a range of issues, from pre-pregnancy healthcare to postnatal care for both mothers and babies.
What are maternal health issues?
Maternal health issues affect millions of women and families around the world. These health issues can have long-term physical, psychological and economic consequences for both mother and child. While some maternal health problems are preventable, others are difficult to address without proper resources or medical intervention.
Maternal health issues commonly include pregnancy-related complications such as preterm birth, low birth weight, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and postpartum depression. Other conditions may be related to nutrition or poor access to healthcare before and during pregnancy. With inadequate prenatal care, mothers may suffer from anaemia or other infections that can lead to complications with labour and delivery at the time of childbirth.
Which factors affect maternal health
Maternal health is essential for mothers’ physical and mental well-being worldwide. But many factors can affect a mother’s health before, during, and after pregnancy. This article will examine some of these factors and their impacts on maternal health.
- Poverty
Women in low-income countries who lack access to proper healthcare and nutrition often have higher mortality rates, complications during childbirth, and other poor outcomes for the mother and her baby.
- Violence or abuse
Women who have been abused are more likely to suffer from poor reproductive health due to increased stress hormones which can lead to premature labour or other serious complications.
- Nutrition
Eating nutritious foods helps to ensure that the mother gets enough vitamins and minerals needed for fetal growth and development during pregnancy. Without proper nutrition, pregnant women may experience nutrient deficiencies that can lead to pregnancy complications and affect the baby’s growth.
- Inadequate access to quality healthcare services
Services include prenatal care visits, postnatal checkups, family planning, and preventive services like vaccinations.
- Mental health
Mental health can also affect the outcomes of pregnancy. Stressful situations such as poverty or lack of social support can negatively affect the mother and her unborn child
- Lifestyle choices
Certain lifestyle choices, such as smoking or drinking alcohol during pregnancy, can lead to complications, including low birth weight or even preterm labour
Leading causes of maternal mortality
Maternal death is defined as the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of delivery or termination of pregnancy, regardless of the duration and site of the pregnancy. Every day, over 800 women die from preventable causes related to childbirth and pregnancy worldwide, which amounts to nearly 300 000 each year. To reduce global maternal deaths, it is imperative to identify the leading causes behind them in various countries worldwide.
The leading causes of maternal mortality vary widely by country and region. Still, some of the most common causes include severe bleeding after childbirth due to a ruptured uterus, infections primarily after childbirth, pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, complications from delivery, and unsafe abortions.
In recent years, lack of access to healthcare services has emerged as a critical contributor to maternal fatalities in resource-limited regions. Additionally, poverty often hinders access to nutritional foods necessary for healthy pregnancies, leading to increased risks for both mother and baby during birth.
What are the 3 components of maternal care?
Maternal care is critical to ensuring a healthy pregnancy and is essential to the health and safety of the mother and her unborn baby. Pregnant women need to understand the three components of maternal care to make informed decisions about their healthcare.
- Prenatal care
This involves regular visits to your healthcare provider for checkups, tests, and vaccinations throughout pregnancy. During these visits, you’ll discuss any questions or concerns about changes in your body or lifestyle during pregnancy. Your healthcare provider will also track the growth and development of your baby.
- Childbirth education classes
They provide information on labour, delivery, breastfeeding, newborn care, postpartum recovery, and parenting skills. These classes are designed to help prepare expectant parents for what lies ahead in their journey into parenthood.
- Postnatal care
Postnatal care is essential for both the mother’s and baby’s health. It includes breastfeeding support and advice on childcare practices, such as immunization schedules that promote healthy growth for the newborn baby.
What is the importance of maternal and child health nursing
Maternal and child health nursing is essential for promoting the health of mothers and their children in various settings. It focuses on providing comprehensive healthcare for those at risk or with special needs due to pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum experiences.
Through this specialized field of nursing, nurses can support families in developing parenting skills and provide general education about maternal health. Nurses are essential in monitoring the mother and child’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being throughout their care.
This entails providing assessments related to prenatal care, such as identifying potential risks or complications during pregnancy. Nurses also assist with routine preventative screenings such as immunizations after birth or other infectious disease prevention strategies that help protect the health of both mother and baby.
What is the primary focus of nursing practice in maternal and child nursing health practice?
The primary focus of this practice is to ensure the well-being of both mother and baby and ensure comprehensive medical services are available throughout each stage of pregnancy. Nurses in maternal and child health practice specialize in various areas, including
- Prenatal education
- Labour and delivery care
- Postpartum care for mothers and newborns
- Nutrition counselling for pregnant women and new mothers
- Immunizations for infants and children
- Breastfeeding consultation for new mothers
Nurses provide a wide range of clinical services to promote health before conception through childhood growth. They assess patients’ physical condition while providing psychological support when stress can be high or emotions are running strong.
How does maternal health affect child growth and development?
Maternal health has a significant impact on the growth and development of a child. Mothers provide the necessary nutrients to their babies during pregnancy through the placenta. The quality and quantity of these nutrients are essential in ensuring a healthy start in life for the growing fetus. After birth, continued maternal health is key to a child’s well-being.
Studies have shown that when mothers practice good nutrition, get regular prenatal care, and take measures to reduce stress during pregnancy, their children tend to display better physical and cognitive development outcomes later in life.
Maternal health can also affect a child’s immune system; when mothers are exposed to specific pathogens during pregnancy or shortly after giving birth, it can increase the chance of their child developing illnesses or infections. Furthermore, research has suggested that the early exposure of microbes from the mother may be beneficial for stimulating a newborn’s immune system response.
Benefits of Improved Maternal Health
- Better prenatal care to decrease the risk of infectious diseases. It is, therefore, important to emphasize the importance of improving the overall health and safety of pregnant women everywhere
- Maternal healthcare services that are tailored toward the needs of mothers can have a positive impact on their well-being during pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum recovery
- Improved access to antenatal care can empower women to make informed decisions regarding their pregnancy, such as vaccinations and dietary choices that can reduce risks related to childbirth or birth complications
- Improved nutrition among pregnant women helps ensure their bodies are healthy enough for gestation and labour.
What are the objectives of maternal and child health
Maternal and child health objectives are to reduce infant mortality, improve the physical, mental, and social well-being of pregnant women, mothers, infants, and children up to the age of five, and ensure access to health services for these populations.
These objectives generally include
- Efforts to improve nutrition
- Promote disease prevention
- Increase immunization rates
- Decrease preterm birth rates
- Prevent injury or abuse
- Treat developmental delays in children
- Provide family planning services
- Reduce maternal mortality rates due to labour and delivery complications
- Identify infectious diseases among mothers and children
- Provide antenatal care (care during pregnancy)
- Monitor growth charts of babies and toddlers to detect any issues early on
Bottom line
Maternal health is critical to a mother’s and her baby’s health. It is essential to be aware of pregnancy’s potential risks and take steps to reduce them. This includes having regular prenatal checkups, eating right and exercising regularly, getting adequate rest, and reducing stress levels. Women should also ensure they have access to quality medical care in case of complications during labour or delivery. For more info, click here for assistance.
