CleanBirth - Saving Mothers and Babies in Laos

CleanBirth.org - Donate $5 Saves 2 Lives

Save the Children’s Facts on Health in Laos

Here’s a quick look at Laos health stats thanks compliments of Save the Children.

The health situation of women and children in Laos is amongst the poorest in Southeast Asia; Infant mortality rate is 70 per 1000 live births and under five mortality claims 98 per 1000 live births1.

Every day 36 children under-five die due to preventable and treatable diseases.

Percentages of underweight children have been almost unchanged between 1990 and 2006 (40% and 37.1%) and the prevalence of stunting in under-fives is up to 40.4%.

According to UNICEF/WHO official estimate (2007), immunisation coverage has declined—only 27% of children by their first birthday have received all eight recommended vaccinations2.

Maternal mortality remains very high at 405/100,000 live births, approximately 800 deaths per year or 2 deaths per day.

A high percentage of children (71.5%) are born to mothers who received no antenatal care and 84.8% of pregnant women give birth at home3 .

These are clear indicators of low health service utilization and poor quality health services/facilities.

1 Lao Reproductive Health Survey 2005, this is the official figure and most reliable for reference – the 2008 survey, although it quotes lower figures is not ‘official’

2 Strategy and Planning Framework for the Integrated Package of Maternal Neonatal and Child Health Services 2009 – 2015

3 Lao Reproductive Health Survey 2005

Research on Maternal and Infant Sepsis

In Maternal and early onset neonatal bacterial sepsis: burden and strategies for prevention in sub-Saharan Africa, Seale et al find gaps in the research on maternal and newborn sepsis.  I just read the summary here http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(09)70172-0/abstract.  Their work seems to substantiates providing clean, antiseptic conditions for birth.

Bolstering the argument for preventing sepsis following birth, they find that:

Although existing published data suggest that sepsis causes about 10% of all maternal deaths and 26% of neonatal deaths, these are likely to be considerable underestimates because of methodological limitations.  Successful intervention strategies in resource-rich settings and early studies in sub-Saharan Africa suggest that the burden of maternal and early onset neonatal bacterial sepsis could be reduced through simple interventions, including antiseptic and antibiotic treatment.

New Mother and Child Hospital Vientaine

A new mom and baby hospital opened in 2011 in Vientaine sees many patients and gives foreign medical personel a chance to get experience and teach Lao medical personel.  http://www.vientianetimes.org.la/sub-new/Lifestyle/lifestyle_The%20Mother.htm

I found this interesting:

“Those wards will allow us to lower the infant mortality rate significantly,” says [Dr Urs Lauper, a former head of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University Hospital Zurich]. That contributes to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

With the same goal in mind, the Swiss Lao Hospital Project funded a newborn delivery kit, which provides medical personnel in rural areas with hygienic materials to prevent omphalis (navel inflammation) and newborn tetanus. In the future Dr Lauper hopes to strengthen the health system at the village level and to improve the equipment used at Health Centres.

Here is another article on the subject: http://laovoices.com/childrens-hospital-opens-in-vientiane/

Pin It on Pinterest