| Name | Balancing the Scales: Expanding Treatment for Pregnant Women with Life-Threatening Hypertensive Cond |
| Description | One of the most common, yet treatable, causes of maternal death worldwide is pre-eclampsia—the rapid elevation of blood pressure during pregnancy—which, if untreated, can lead to seizures (eclampsia), kidney and liver damage, and ultimately, death. Approximately 63,000 pregnant women die every year because of eclampsia and severe pre-eclampsia, which are also associated with a higher risk of newborn death. Based on the latest scientific evidence, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended magnesium sulfate as the most effective, safe, and low-cost medication to treat eclampsia and pre-eclampsia. While magnesium sulfate has been the standard treatment in the developed world for the past 20 years, less-effective and riskier medications (such as diazepam and phenytoin) are still widely used for these conditions in most developing countries. This is yet another example of the enormous disparity in the quality of maternal health care between industrialized and poor nations. Earlier this year, in response to this issue, EngenderHealth, an international reproductive health organization, and the University of Oxford brought together leading scientists, advocates, researchers, and representatives of the WHO, UNICEF, United Nations agencies, and national ministries of health from around the world to identify country-specific barriers to the availability and use of the drug, as well as factors that facilitate its utilization in settings where magnesium sulfate is not the treatment of choice within public health systems. This report details barriers and solutions to treat pre-eclampsia and eclampsia. |
| Tag | report, English, EngenderHealth, Eclampsia, Pre-Eclampsia, Blood Pressure, Seizures, Kidney Damage, Liver Damage, Magnesium Sulfate, Low-Cost Medication, Effective Medication, Disparity, National Priorities, Supply Shortage, Lack of Education, Lack of Training, Childbirth, Postnatal Care |
| Filename | engenderhealth-eclampsia-report.pdf |
| Filesize | 315.3 kB |
| Filetype | pdf (Mime Type: application/pdf) |
| Creator | christopherlindahl |
| Created On: |
12/01/2009 14:46 |
| Viewers | Everybody |
| Maintained by | Editor |
| Hits | 665 Hits |
| Last updated on |
08/05/2011 10:26 |
| Homepage | http://www.engenderhealth.org/ |
