Leonel Briozzo1, Rodolfo Gómez Ponce de León2, Giselle Tomasso3, Anibal Faúndes4. 1. Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic A, Pereira Rossell Hospital, School of Medicine, University of the Republic, Montevideo, Uruguay. Electronic address: leobriozzo@hotmail.com. 2. Latin American Center of Perinatology (CLAP), Montevideo, Uruguay. 3. Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic A, Pereira Rossell Hospital, School of Medicine, University of the Republic, Montevideo, Uruguay. 4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, State University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate changes in maternal mortality rates in Uruguay over the past 25years, as well as their distribution by cause, and their temporal relationship with social changes and Human Development Index (HDI) indicators. METHODS: Data on maternal mortality obtained directly from the Uruguayan Ministry of Public Health for the 2001 to 2015 period were analyzed together with data from the United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation for the 1990 to 2015 period. The swiftness of the decrease in maternal mortality per five-year period, the variation in the percentage of abortion-related deaths, and the correlation with HDI indicators were evaluated. RESULTS: Maternal mortality decreased significantly, basically due to a reduction in the number of deaths from unsafe abortion, which was the principal cause of maternal mortality in the 1990s. The reduction in maternal mortality over the past 10years also coincides with a reduction in poverty and an improvement in the HDI. CONCLUSION: A rapid reduction occurred in maternal mortality in Uruguay, particularly in maternal mortality resulting from unsafe abortion. This coincided with the application of a model for reducing the risk and harm of unsafe abortions, which finally led to the decriminalization of abortion.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate changes in maternal mortality rates in Uruguay over the past 25years, as well as their distribution by cause, and their temporal relationship with social changes and Human Development Index (HDI) indicators. METHODS: Data on maternal mortality obtained directly from the Uruguayan Ministry of Public Health for the 2001 to 2015 period were analyzed together with data from the United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation for the 1990 to 2015 period. The swiftness of the decrease in maternal mortality per five-year period, the variation in the percentage of abortion-related deaths, and the correlation with HDI indicators were evaluated. RESULTS: Maternal mortality decreased significantly, basically due to a reduction in the number of deaths from unsafe abortion, which was the principal cause of maternal mortality in the 1990s. The reduction in maternal mortality over the past 10years also coincides with a reduction in poverty and an improvement in the HDI. CONCLUSION: A rapid reduction occurred in maternal mortality in Uruguay, particularly in maternal mortality resulting from unsafe abortion. This coincided with the application of a model for reducing the risk and harm of unsafe abortions, which finally led to the decriminalization of abortion.
Authors: Shelly Makleff; Ana Labandera; Fernanda Chiribao; Jennifer Friedman; Roosbelinda Cardenas; Eleuthera Sa; Sarah E Baum Journal: BMC Womens Health Date: 2019-12-09 Impact factor: 2.809