Deaths in childbirth very high

Deaths in childbirth very high

JAKARTA: More women in Indonesia died during childbirth last
year than in any other Southeast Asian country, a health ministry
official said Monday.

The rate was 323 per 100,000 births last year compared to 30
each in Malaysia and Sri Lanka, and 50 in Thailand, said the
ministry's director general for public health, Azrul Azwar.

He said the deaths were often due to bleeding, anemia and
infections. Women who died during abortions were also included in
the figures.

Many pregnant women were unable to receive medical help when
they needed it, he said, while others gave birth too young.

"For some women, in this case pregnant women, the decision to
go to the hospital when they are in critical condition is in the
hands of their husbands," Azwar said.

The health ministry has been working with related institutions
in an effort to reduce the number of deaths during childbirth, he
said.--Antara