Training of Roma Health Mediators in Reproductive Health

Trainer document
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MATERNAL AND CHILD MORTALITY AND
HIGH-RISH FACTORS
Age ("Too Young, Too Old") for having children
• Mothers younger than 18 and older than 35 are at greater risk of prenatal
complications and pregnancy-related death.
• If pregnancy could be averted in women under age 20 and over age 35, maternal
mortality could be reduced by 8-40%.
• If childbirth could be postponed until the "too young" mother was old enough, and
averted in mothers "too old" and "too ill," the impact on both maternal and
• infant mortality would be significant.
Birth Number ("Too Many")
• The more children a woman bears, the greater her risk of dying as a result of
pregnancy and/or childbirth.
• Women who have had five or more deliveries:
o are more likely to experience problems during pregnancy and labor and to require
Caesarean section (which is often not readily available or not performed early
enough).
o have a significantly higher risk of miscarriage and perinatal mortality than women
undergoing their second or third delivery.
Birth Interval ("Too Close")
• There is a strong, direct relationship between birth intervals and infant/child
mortality.
• Babies born less than two years after the previous baby are twice as likely to die as
babies spaced by at least a two year interval.
• The child who has been displaced by the new baby is also at increased risk--on
average, s/he is about one and a half times as likely to die if the new baby is born
within two years of his or her birth because of early weaning and its accompanying
risks of diarrheal disease and malnutrition.
• The shorter is the birth interval, the higher is the risk of pregnancy complications and
maternal mortality.
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RFHI/JSI Romania Training of RHMs in Reproductive Health Session 2: Basic Principles of RH & FP