Health Care :: Pregnancy, Child birth, New born babies Care

Lack of health care is especially common in extremely poor areas. People know of the bad results that come when women especially do not have good health care. In many parts of the world, women's health is linked to the health and success of a family. Mothers who have poor health have families who also suffer.

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Pregnant women need care before the baby is born. This is called prenatal care. This care includes advice about the best foods to eat for the developing baby, or activities to avoid while pregnant. Sometimes things can go wrong in a pregnancy. Prenatal care can help catch problems as bleed and swelling before they become too severe.
Pregnant women often also need care during and after labor, when the baby is being born. That is because there are things that can go wrong during labor, like a very long labor. Many times, mothers may simply not know they are experiencing problems. They may not know what pregnancy sign is normal, and what one is dangerous.
Simple solutions are in need for this complex problems for mothers and babies, not just treat them the poorest communities. Villages in areas far from cities are very poor in undeveloped country. And they have high rates of death for babies. Together the women identified problems women might have in pregnancy, child birth, or in caring for new born babies in the local community.
As the women talked about these problems, they shared experiences and advice. They talked about solutions to the problems. The groups used different methods to talk about the problems and solutions. These included looking at picture cards, playing games, and acting out situations. They went through the actions they would take if a woman was having a very long labor, or if she needed to be taken quickly to the hospital.
After only a year, the rates of death for babies were lower. And by the end of the trial, deaths of newborn babies had dropped by almost half! The number of mothers with moderate depression also dropped.
Many new parents may not know how to take care of a new born baby. Sometimes, they do not trust themselves. But these groups also gave mothers confidence in their actions. They learned how to take care of the baby.
Earlier, the women did not have much information. But now the women have become aware. They can solve their problems. So, even if the leaders are not there, the women would continue. I really believe this and it makes me feel very good.
Providing health care to the people who need it is important. But communities should also know how much they can help each other. Community meetings like this cannot - and should not - replace professional health care. But, simple groups can make a big difference by talking to each other, sharing experiences, and supporting each other. This is a good method for saving the lives of mothers, babies, and the people in their communities.

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