Reply #1: Peru: Maternal Health and Mortality - Facts and Figures & Case Studies [View All]

[Judi Lynn]

July, 08 2009
Peru: Maternal Health and Mortality - Facts and Figures & Case Studies
Facts and Figures

According to Peruvian government figures, 185 women die for every 100,000 live births in Peru. The United Nations puts the number at 240 – one of the highest in the Americas. (UNFPA)

27 per cent of deaths of women from pregnancy-related causes occurred during pregnancy; 26 per cent occurred during the birth itself; and 46 per cent during the first six weeks after giving birth (Ministry of Health, Department of Epidemiology, 2007).

The five main causes of pregnancy-related deaths in Peru are: haemorrhage, pre-eclampsia, infection, complications following abortion and obstructed birth (Ministry of Health, Department of Epidemiology, 2007).

In 2007, only 36.1 per cent of the women in the poorest sectors of society who
gave birth between 2002 and 2007 stated that the last time they had given birth was in
a health facility. The comparable figure for women in the richest sectors of society was
98.4 per cent (National Institute of Statistics and Information - INEI).

59.1 per cent of the communities covered by the 2007 national census of Indigenous Peoples did not have a health facility. Of those that did, 45.4 per cent had no more than a first aid post; 42.3 per cent had a health post (one of the most basic classifications of health facilities); and 10.9 per cent had access to a health centre (the next more equipped type of facility after a health post). (2007 National Census of Indigenous Peoples).

Although only just over a third of Peru’s population lives in rural areas, the rural population makes up more than 57.7 per cent of those living in poverty (National Institute of Statistics and Information, 2008).

More:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGPRE200907081133&lang=e