Pregnant Women Care

According to estimates made by UNICEF, PAHO/WHO and UNFPA, maternal death rate in year 2000 was of 410 deaths for each 100 newly born children. This rate has been reduced gradually with the increased number of institutional childbirths. However, in the rural areas in the Andean highlands 80% of the pregnant women have the childbirth in the house. It is not only a matter of lack of guidance, but there are also other reasons for that:

• The distance between the households and the medical centers
• The fact that their children and belongings would have to stay alone by themselves
• The community habit of granting rights only to children that are born in the community

The SEMBRANDO program has as one of its goals to contribute to reduce the child/mother mortality, by providing more security to the childbirth in the household.

With that objective and with the advice of PAHO and UNICEF- an instruments package has been designed to improve the pregnant woman’s health during pregnancy time and to prevent possible childbirth complications with six previous controls and supervision with trained staff, ensure proper nutrition with the supply of “little stars”, and to provide childbirth hygiene.

The activities carried out are:

• Training and awareness about pre-natal control
• Training about alarm signals during pregnancy
• Training to community leaders, mid-wives and families in elemental skills for childbirth care and use of the imminent childbirth kits.
• Delivery of nutritional complement since the first month of pregnancy
• Training for imminent childbirth at home.
• Kit for imminent childbirth care that may allow women to be cared in hygiene conditions.
• Follow up, control and mother and child vitamin supplement during the first year of life.

Training Material (click to download)

1. Prenatal Control Poster
2. Clean Child Birth Handbook
3. Alarm Signs Handbook
4. Mother and Newborn Child Care