Chapters 6-8: Summary

Chapters 6-8 mostly talk about maternal mortality and how in a lot of countries when do not get the proper attention needed to safely and effeciently give birth. For example, in Africa a type of infection called fistula is not uncommon. Every year about 30,000 to 130,000 new cases are reported. When a women gets this, it is almost like a death sentence because there is no where for them to get good help. Women have to move away by themselves because the infection gives off such a bad odor, and eventually the women die from starvation. Also 90% of patients that get this often contemplate suicide.
In chapter 7 it talks more about women who die during birth and why this happens. Some causes of this could be eclampsia, hemmorage, or obstructed labor. One story the really caught me off gaurd was right in the beginning of the chapter about prudence. She was pregnant and in labor for three days, then the birth attendant she had jumped on her stomach which ended up rupturing her uterus. While in the hospital she got the worst of care. The doctors and nurses really did not care about her health or whether she lived or died. All they wanted was money and without it they would do nothing. Prudence eventually ended up dieing from infection because of the lack of help she got at the hospital.
Thankfully now there are some efforts to gain better maternal hospitals in Africa, for example, Edna Aden who has built a maternal hospital. Everyone was shocked because many people think that there is no point in building something like that in the third world.
The last chapter talks a lot about the UNFPA organization which is supposed to be helping with this issue. But really in my opinion has not done a very good job exspecially when they take away $34 million that was in the fund and decide not to send it. Just like any other issue, they can all be resolved we just need enough people to really want to make a difference.