Contraception and Reproduction Health Consequences for Women and Children in the Developing World (1989) / Chapter Skim
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7 Conclusions
7 Conclusions
Pages 90-98
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From page 90... ...
Overall, the incidence of poor health and of infant, child, and maternal mortality remains unacceptably high throughout the developing world. Many developing countries have also experienced significant declines in fertility over the last 40 years.
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From page 91... ...
REPRODUCTIVE PATTERNS AND WOMEN'S HEALTH: RISKS FOR INDIVIDUAL WOMEN Matemal mortality has declined significantly in this century in the developed world. Some developing countries have also witnessed declines in maternal mortality because of improvements in prenatal care, better midwifery, widespread use of aseptic delivery procedures, the introduction of antibiotics, improvements in the provision of health services, and overall advances in women's social position and standard of living.
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From page 92... ...
estimate, over 400 million women in developing countries are using some form of contraception. This diffusion of modern contraceptives has facilitated widespread regulation of fertility.
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From page 93... ...
The association between birth spacing and child survival has been observed in developing countries, in high-mortality historical populations, and in contemporary industrialized countries. In this wide range of historical and contemporary populations, children born after short birth intervals have higher mortality than children born after longer intervals.
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From page 94... ...
The effects of this strategy are likely to be greater where living standards are poor, the incidence of disease is high, and parents do not have access to adequate health care. Given the strength of the observed relationship between short birth intervals and infant and child health, policy makers, health and family planning program managers, and concerned citizens in developing countries can improve children's health by encouraging both breastfeeding and contraceptive use in order to lengthen birth intervals.
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From page 95... ...
Because the available data indicate maternal mortality ratios are higher for first pregnancies as well as for higher-order pregnancies, this argument also applies to maternal mortality ratios, which measure the average risk of death for women associated with each pregnancy in a population. Another type of distributional change may mean that, holding everything else constant, mortality rates might actually increase somewhat during the early part of a fertility decline.
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From page 96... ...
There is particular need to understand how family structure and the process of family decision making in developing countries adjusts to changing economic, social, and demographic situations. Seemingly minor changes in one element of reproductive patterns may have long-term consequences that may improve the health and well-being of all family members.
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From page 97... ...
Unsafe abortions are a significant cause of maternal mortality in many developing countries, a finding that must be considered by countries debating the merits of making safe abortions available. Greater control of reproduction would improve maternal and child health by reducing births, especially high-parity births, and by reducing closely spaced pregnancies.
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