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This month we have the opportunity to learn more about infant and maternal health. Dr. Kim Wilson from Harvard Children's Hospital will be our guest speaker on January 31. Dr. Wilson will talk to us about her work, particularly her work in the Dominican Republic.

At our meeting, we will discuss an exciting opportunity that has come to us. April 11-17 is The Week of the Young Child. The Martha Elliott Center, in partnership with Children's Hospital, is looking for ways to support the children and families they serve through some activities and events that would be organized by us. Please bring your ideas for outreach, partnerships, and programs!

The book we are reading is Better, by Atul Gawande. Gawande is my favorite essayist right now. He is a Boston surgeon whose articles The Cost Conundrum, and The Checklist should be required reading for every doctor and every patient. I like all of the essays in Better, but if you read only one, read the essay about immunizing 5 million children in remote villages in India against polio in 72 hours (OK, or some millions--I have loaned out my book). While the immunization success is an amazing testament to diligence and focus, it also illuminates the difficulties of international health care delivery and policy.

I will post links and articles about maternal and infant health through the month. Here is a brief description of the problem from the UNICEF site:

Healthy children needhealthy mothers.

A woman dies from complications in childbirth every minute – about 529,000 each year -- the vast majority of them in developing countries.

A woman in sub-Saharan Africa has a 1 in 16 chance of dying in pregnancy or childbirth, compared to a 1 in 4,000 risk in a developing country – the largest difference between poor and rich countries of any health indicator....

The direct causes of maternal deaths are haemorrhage, infection, obstructed labour, hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, and complications of unsafe abortion. There are birth-related disabilities that affect many more women and go untreated like injuries to pelvic muscles, organs or the spinal cord. At least 20% of the burden of disease in children below the age of 5 is related to poor maternal health and nutrition, as well as quality of care at delivery and during the newborn period. And yearly 8 million babies die before or during delivery or in the first week of life. Further, many children are tragically left motherless each year. These children are 10 times more likely to die within two years of their mothers' death.

Another risk to expectant women is malaria. It can lead to anaemia, which increases the risk for maternal and infant mortality and developmental problems for babies. Nutritional deficiencies contribute to low birth weight and birth defects as well.

Watch for more materials through the month!

--Diane