The nation has gradually shown signs of development in the health sector, raising the country out of the league of countries where most of the women die due to complications related to child delivery in the last few years. Still, Nepal figures in the forefront among the countries where maternal mortality rate (MMR) is high.[break]
Around 281 women per hundred thousand who give births in the country still die due to birth-related complications. The number is far less compared to the record of around 10 years ago, when the maternal mortality rate was two folds of it.
According to the family health survey conducted in 1996, at least 539 women per hundred thousand live births died due to delivery complications. It decreased to 281 which is a decrease by around 49 percent, according to a survey held in 2006.
Similarly, the preliminary survey carried out in 2009 had shown that the number has decreased to 229. "The progress and improvements achieved in the last few years are possibly the results of the positive impact in women´s health," said Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Population Dr. Sudha Sharma.
Increase in the awareness level of women, the number of women who take birthing service in the presence of female community health volunteers, health workers, and capable human resources made available by community based health service programmes to women and newborns might have resulted in improving the health of women, said health experts.
Besides these, availability of family planning devices and safe abortion facilities, too, are encouraging signs in improving the women´s health.
A survey taken in 2011 showed that the number of people preferring means of family planning has decreased though it had increased to 44 per cent in 2006 from 26 per cent in 1996.
Stressing the need of raising public awareness on the use of family planning devices and increasing the number of people preferring them, Director at the Family Health Division, Dr. Narendra Pratap KC said, all should have general information about the family planning and reproductive health.
He said the government has deployed necessary human resources for the extension of availability of the means of family planning, taking into account the necessity and desire of public. He said proper use of means of family planning could be an effective measure for reducing MMR and improving children´s health.
So, many cases of unwanted pregnancies could be seen in the Nepalese society when women are deprived of access to the means of family planning. Abortion has been legalized since the last five years and those coming for abortion say they had unwanted pregnancies. That is why the need for making the family planning devices widely available.
Country Director of the Population Services International (PSI), Andrew Borner, said they have been working for making the availability of the family planning devices and safe abortion services. PSI is an organization that has been working for the social marketing of family planning devices.
Even though, around 50,000 women health volunteers have been contributing to make the availability of the means of family planning in the Nepali villages, they could not be effective due to social fear and hesitation. It is necessary for women making familiar with the means of family planning.
The Nepalese women are keeping their life at risk aborting their womb insecurely as they are not well informed about the safe centers for the abortion and has feared of the society to take the service from the public health centers.
Dr. Bhola Rijal, Senior Gynecologist said Nepalese women´s condition has been improved comparing to the past. Still, the rural women hesitate to disclose their problems. He added that rural women´s trend of even hiding their health problems, in some extent, become the cause for their suffering.
According to a data, around 700,000 to 800,000 women bear pregnancies every year. Of them, 20 percent women report that they are forced to receive womb tough they do not desire for this. And Around 28 percent of the women reported that they have to bear womb in the lack of unavailability of the means of family planning. The study shows that around 25 percent among the MMR is caused by insecure abortion.
Geographical remoteness, social backwardness, and lack of human power are the main causes of the death of the Nepalese women that is why additional programmes to improve the situation should be brought.
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