Pesonal Child Birth Story

When my daughter called and told me she was in labor, I remember my heart skipping a beat.  My first experience with childbirth was not pleasant, giving birth to her at the age of 19 was scary and while the delivery went fine, she was healthy, but the events that followed were not anything I would want anyone to experience. I was a low income, unwed, teenager without insurance living in another state, I new very few people and my boyfriend (husband) had a new job. The expectation for the hospital was to get me out as fast as possible. Due to a fever I was poked and prodded for 24 hours, given a German measles shot just to be safe, and sent home.  I spent 3 days in bed with a fever and my husband had to take off work to take care of me and our baby. After 20 years the memories came back fresh in my mind. On the way to the hospital to see my daughter I said a silent pray to calm me and give her strength.   
When I arrived, she asked me to come into her room.  Little did I know that I would get to witness my first grand baby be born.  Kayla was not dilating the way they wanted her to so she ended up getting a spinal and putosin,  it wore off in time for her to push. She delivered a healthy girl  named Gracie who is now five years old.

Child Birth In India

These are some of the shocking findings of UNICEF's `State of the World's Children 2009' report released on Thursday.

·         According to the report, an Indian woman is 300 times more likely to die in childbirth or from pregnancy-related complications than women in America or England. For every mother who dies, 20 others suffer pregnancy-related illness. Around 10 million women annually experience such adverse outcomes.

·         Despite an increase in institutional deliveries, 60% of pregnant women still deliver their babies at home.

·         In India, more than two-thirds of all maternal deaths occur in a handful of states -- UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, MP, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Assam.

·         In UP, one in every 42 women faces risk of maternal death, compared to 1 in 500 women in Kerala.

·         As far as neonatal deaths (within the first 28 days of life ) are concerned, the worst-off states include Orissa (52 deaths per 1,000 live births), MP (51), UP (46), Rajasthan (45), and Chhattisgarh (43).

·         The report points out that babies whose mothers die during the first six weeks of their lives are more likely to die in the first two years of life. "For every 100 children born in the world, 20 are from India. For every 100 children who die globally, 22 die in India," UNICEF India chief Karin Hulshof said.

·         According to her, the health and survival of mothers and their newborns are intrinsically linked. "Many of the same interventions that save maternal lives also benefit their infants. Even though India has cut its under-five mortality rate from 117 per 1,000 live births to 72 between 1990 and 2007, neonatal deaths contribute to 50% of these under-five deaths," Karin added.

·         According to the report, three-quarters of all maternal deaths in India occur from complications either during delivery or in the immediate post-partum period.

·         A quarter of the world's unattended deliveries take place in India, which is one of 10 countries which together account for two-thirds of births not attended by skilled health workers.

·         The report also points to India's shameful statistics regarding breastfeeding. Experts say universalisation of early breastfeeding, within one hour of birth, would reduce neonatal mortality in India by 22% while universalisation of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life would avert nearly 16% of young child deaths.

·         However, the report says only one in four children are breastfed within one hour of birth.

·         Annually, around 6 million children born in India have low birth weigh

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-01-16/india/28034518_1_maternal-deaths-neonatal-deaths-pregnancy-related-complications.