From medscape weekly news.....
Cheers Tina P.
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UN Group to Aid Pregnant Women in Iraq
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Mar 21 - The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is set to drop equipment and supplies in Iraq and neighboring countries designed to improve the care of pregnant women displaced by the war, according to a UNFPA statement released on Friday.
Maternal and infant mortality rates have risen greatly in Iraq in recent years. In the late 1980s, 117 mothers died per 100,000 live births, but now the rate is more than three times as high--370 deaths. Mortality rates for infants and young children have also increased dramatically, according to the UNFPA.
With the war in Iraq, these figures are only going to get worse, the UNFPA notes.
Before the war began on Wednesday, pregnant women were rushing to hospitals in Baghdad pleading with physicians to deliver their infants--even if it meant a c-section or extreme prematurity. During the war in 1991, many maternal and infant deaths occurred because patients were unable to reach the hospital.
The UNFPA has pre-positioned basic reproductive health supplies inside Iraq, including equipment needed for 35 mobile health units and four referral-level facilities to serve internally displaced persons. A representative from UNFPA will be coordinating the operations at the United Nations centre in Cyprus.
The UNFPA has also taken measures to protect the health of pregnant women who flee to neighboring countries. Equipment and medical personnel are being deployed to Jordan, Syria, Iran, and Turkey.
To continue and expand these efforts, UNFPA is "asking international donors for $5 million for the next 6 months."
