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NEW: Drug That Prevents PostPartum Hemorrhage Added To WHO Essential Medicines List
As I have written many times before postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) or excessive uterine bleeding after childbirth is the leading cause of maternal mortality in low-and-middle income countries. The recommended drug to prevent PPH according to the World Health Organization (WHO) is oxytocin. When administered in its recommended dose it causes little to no side effects.…
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Featured Video: What Invention Are You Waiting For?
When people think about new inventions, 95% of them immediately begin thinking about tech inventions, but what about medical inventions that save lives? Merck recently launched a video that asked Americans what invention they are waiting for. Take a look. Did you know 68% of Americans cannot name a single scientist working to invent medicine?…
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The Troubling Truth About Maternal Mortality in the United States
When everyday Americans think about women dying during childbirth it is probable that their initial thoughts travel directly to Africa where it is quite well known that maternal mortality is rife. Chances are their thoughts never focus on the deaths and near deaths during childbirth that women experience right here in the United States. After all, the…
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Instagram Photo About U.S. Maternal Mortality You Don’t Want to Miss
Earlier this year I wrote about the important maternal mortality art work of Chicago-based artist and activist, Michelle Hartney and her plan to sew 1,200 hospital gowns for her performance art, MOTHER’S RIGHT — one for every woman who died in the US during childbirth in 2013. Hartney will perform this piece on September 7th at the…
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Maternal Health Heroes Summer Series Interviews
Throughout the summer we will speak with some of the most notable maternal health advocates in the world ahead of the Global Maternal Newborn Health Conference that will be held in Mexico City between October 18 – 21, 2015. Follow the conversation at #MHHSS. Read all of the interviews below.
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Maternal Health Heroes: Interview With Dr. Priya Agrawal #MHHSS
We are happy to publish our second interview in our Maternal Health Heroes Summer Series with Dr. Priya Agrawal, Executive Director of Merck for Mothers. Throughout the summer we will speak with some of the most notable maternal health advocates in the world ahead of the Global Maternal Newborn Health Conference that will be held in Mexico City between October 18 –…
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Improved Data Platform Slated to Track Maternal Health
Without question, the highest rates of maternal mortality are found in sub-Saharan Africa. That certainly doesn’t mean that other regions do not also experience far too many maternal deaths. In Argentina, for example, there are 69 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, Mexico’s MMR is 49 and Colombia’s is 83. To prevent those maternal deaths the Pan American…
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New Company Launches to Combat Maternal and Newborn Mortality in the US
The word is getting out that maternal and newborn mortality are an ever-increasing problem in the United States. As I have written before, the United States has the highest ratio of maternal mortality of any developed country in the world and yet we spend the most on health care globally. While many (including scientists and…
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Featured Video: #EndMaternalMortality
Merck for Mothers is a 10-year, $500 million global initiative that applies Merck’s scientific and business expertise to help reduce maternal mortality worldwide. So far, with our partners, they have helped an estimated 3.5 million women around the world including the United States. We agree, no woman should die giving life. Watch their #EndMaternalMortality video. Photo:…
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Merck and WHO Partner to Curb Postpartum Hemorrhage Deaths
Earlier this month I wrote about Uganda’s move to use misoprostol for women who experience postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) during childbirth or immediately after delivery. PPH is the leading cause of maternal mortality for women around the world. 800 women die every day from complications during pregnancy and delivery; that is two mothers a minute. Misoprostol, it has…
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5 Best Buys for Improved Maternal Health
Last week PSI released its latest issue of Impact magazine: The Best Buys Issue. For this issue of Impact, PSI partnered with Devex, Merck for Mothers and PATH to ask one key question: What are the best buys for global health and development? During a two-hour conversation held at the Center for Global Development global health experts…
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Maternal Mortality in the US: The Numbers May Surprise You
When we talk about sky-high maternal mortality rates we tend to look more closely at low-income countries like Afghanistan, Chad and Somalia that have the world’s highest maternal mortality rates in the world according to the World Bank. And, of course, sub-Saharan African countries need to desperately bring their numbers down. But when you look…