Delivery at medical center helps to reduce maternal and child mortality

Vientine, June 10 (KPL) - Event through the campaign to mobilise pregnant women to give birth at the medical centres has been organised a lot by the ministry of public health but the information on the mother and child health is still to be disseminated to the public by the media. The maternal and child health issue is very important not only for the urban population but also to general public in the rural and remote areas where the people are still living with their traditional culture, in which the women are still working hard during their pregnancy. The women in the Lao society, particularly those who are living in remote areas now still shy to see health workers for giving birth because their low education and lack of useful information. In other hand, the culture is also main thing to stop them to see the health workers. Due to the lacking of information and limitation of knowledge, so far some Lao women still give birth at home, which is a main reason of high rate for maternal and child mortality. In the Lao PDR where the medical centers are difficult to find in the rural and remote areas is needed to make campaign and mobilise pregnant women to come to the medical center in order to avoid from the risks and to make the regular medical checkup and receives some advise. Currently, the educational materials including brochures, magazine and newspaper on maternal and child health has been not enough produced and supplied to the people, particularly those who are living in the remote areas and minority group people. Today, the mass media has been asked to joint hand with the ministry of public health and other organisation concern to promote the mother and child health in order to reduce the mortality rate of mother and child, particularly the newborn. The media has been used as a tool to provide the useful information and advice women on how to prepare themselves before giving birth and mothers on how to take care their babies, avoiding from giving birth alone and on the exclusive breastfeeding. In order to reduce the maternal and child mortality, achieve MDG4 and 5 and to promote increased utilization of quality integrated reproductive health, the reproductive health programme, the key tool of the government has been implementing by UNFPA in collaboration with Lao Youth Union, Lao Women's Union, ministry of health, mother and child health centre and ministry of education. The reproductive health awareness raising is now being used as an entry point to discuss wider issues, including maternal and child mortality and gender equality. - end.