Nora's Chemistry Blog: Extra Credit

Extra Credit Report

July 18, 2013

Mat Red

Many countries, even wealthy ones, suffer from significant amount of deaths due to childbirth. Childbirth in Bangladesh, in particular, is a primary killer. The amount of deaths reduced greatly recently because the training, and educating that took place for the midwives, and people who give birth at home. They have been taught what to do in emergency situations or if anything were to go wrong. Extreme blood loss is a common major life-threatening problem. A researcher, Mohammad Abdul Quaiyum, invented a birth mat that is supposed to increase the comfort of the woman who is giving birth as well as absorbs most of the blood that the woman has produced. Bangladesh women who give birth at home often use this mat for hygienic protection. If a woman were to lose more than half a liter of blood, that implies that something went wrong, and she is in danger. The birth mat is designed to absorb about 400 milliliters of the blood, so if it gets saturated the mother should call for help immediately. Researchers and a charity collaborated to make birthing kits that will allow and more convenient and sanitary birth for women who stay at home. The kit includes a birth mat, a razor to cut the umbilical cord, cotton gauze, a thread to tie off the umbilical cord, soap, a plastic sheet for them to deliver on, as well as a dose of misoprostol that is supposed to control the bleeding. Doctors distributed 77,00 of the kits and they were more successful than anyone thought.

This article interested me because I didnt realize that even during this time period, people were doing home births and were dying from these births. I think that it is amazing that this charity is giving mothers the supplies they need to give birth safely and successfully.