International Day of the Midwife

Many people consider the day their child was born the happiest day in their life. In the world's wealthier countries, that is. In poorer countries, the day a child is born is all too often the day its mother dies. The lifetime risk of dying in pregnancy and childbirth in Africa is 1 in 22, while it is 1 in 120 in Asia and 1 in 7,300 in developed countries. 

Today, 5th May, is International Day of the Midwife and one of the most appropriate days to highlight that over 340,000 women and over 5 million infants around the world die each year as a result of preventable pregnancy and childbirth complications.

The world needs midwives now more than ever. 

The World Health Organisation, UN agencies and other global partners have identified that midwives are the key to achieving reductions in maternal and newborn deaths and disabilities globally. 

A global shortage of midwives is reducing the chances of countries hitting millennium development goal 5 (MDG 5) to reduce by three-quarters the maternal mortality rate.

What is the MDG 5?

Millennium Development Goal 5 (MDG 5) aims to reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio by 2015 and to universalise the access to sexual and reproductive health.

• Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio. 
• Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health. 

Quick Facts:

1. Every year, 536,000 women and girls die as a result of complications during pregnancy, childbirth or the six weeks following delivery. 
2. 99% of these deaths occur in developing countries, half of them in sub-Saharan Africa and one third in South Asia. 
3. A further nine million women suffer complications that can result in life long pain, disability and socio-economic exclusion.
4. Around 215 millions couples per year do not have access to modern contraception methods. 

http://www.actionforglobalhealth.eu/index.php?id=101

The direct causes of maternal deaths are haemorrhage, infection, obstructed labour, hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, and complications of unsafe abortion. A majority of these deaths and disabilities are preventable, being mainly due to insufficient care during pregnancy and delivery. Around 20 million women have unsafe abortions each year, and 3 million of the estimated 8.5 million who need care for subsequent health complications do not receive it. About 15 % of pregnancies and childbirths need emergency obstetric care because of complications that are difficult to predict.

Investing in maternal and sexual health can have a great impact on the other Development Goals. Greater use of condoms for contraception would reduce the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Reducing unplanned births and family size would result in savings on public-sector spending for health, water, sanitation and social services and reduce pressure on scarce natural resources, making social and economic development goals easier to achieve. Amongst other benefits, reducing unplanned pregnancies, particularly among adolescents, would improve educational and employment opportunities for women, which would in turn contribute to improving the status of women, increasing family savings, reducing poverty and spurring economic growth.

The real question is – Can the MDG 5 be achieved by 2015?

A global shortage of midwives means many women around the world are giving birth without a trained professional, increasing the risk to women's health and reducing the chances of countries hitting millennium development goal 5 to cut maternal mortality rates.

Today is the International Day Of The Midwife, and is used to bring awareness of the importance of midwives' work, and recognise the care they provide to child bearing families.

Happy healthy babies are the best reason of all to celebrate International Day of the Midwife today.

Who says fairy-tale endings don’t exist?!

Well, it sure has been one hell of a fairy tale week.

On Friday 29th April 2011, one of the biggest days in British history, Prince William and Miss Catherine “Kate” Middleton were declared man and wife at London's Westminster Abbey, in front of a congregation of around 1,900 and a worldwide television audience estimated at as many as 2 billion.

Wearing an ivory and white satin dress designed by Sarah Burton, a closely guarded secret until minutes before the service began; Kate accepted a wedding ring of Welsh gold, given to William by the Queen soon after the couple were engaged. The bride also wore a diamond-studded halo tiara which was loaned to her by the Queen.

In a marriage ceremony led by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Kate promised William that she would "love him, comfort him, honour him, and keep him," and he offered the same pledge. Like William's mother Princess Diana at her own 1981 wedding to Prince Charles, Kate struck a modern note by omitting the traditional vow to "obey" her husband.

Kate, 29, the daughter of creators of a successful party-planning business, becomes the first commoner in line to be queen in modern times. She'll now be known officially as Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge, though the public will know her as Princess Catherine. William becomes the Duke of Cambridge.

AWW! And what a wedding it was. Proud moment for the British and everyone had a fabulous day overall as millions joined in with the Royal celebrations worldwide.


So, the Prince gets married and lives happily ever after. . .

This morning, I woke up to the news that the most wanted man...leader of the al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden was dead!! 

I was almost shocked as I didn't think I would ever hear those words and the first thing I thought was, finally, some closure. Extremely curious as to how it all went down, I turned on BBC News and I was glued to the TV for a good few hours.

Osama became known to the world as the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks in 2001, but intelligence services had been concerned about him since the early 1990s.

He was found and killed at a fortified compound on the outskirts of Abbottabad in north-west Pakistan.The compound is a few hundred metres from the Pakistan Military Academy, an elite military training centre, which is being described as Pakistan's equivalent to Britain's Sandhurst or the West Point academny in the US.

US President Barack Obama has hailed the death of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden as a "good day for America," saying the world is now a safer and a better place.

He is believed to have ordered the attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001, as well as a number of other deadly bombings.

He topped the US "most wanted" list.

But his details on the list have now been updated with a simple banner indicating his current status: "Deceased".

DNA tests carried out after the operation indicated with "99.9%" certainty that the man shot dead was Osama Bin Laden, US officials said.

He was buried at sea after a Muslim funeral on board an aircraft carrier in the north Arabian Sea, Pentagon officials said. 

According to an article I read on the Metro website, "American authorities said that Osama bin Laden's body had been buried at sea, without giving further details. After Bin Laden was killed in the raid by US forces, officials insisted the body would be handled in accordance with Islamic practice and tradition. This practice requires the body to be buried within 24 hours.
A US official said that a country would find it difficult to accept the remains of the world's most wanted terrorist, so it was decided to bury him at an undisclosed location in the sea.
Burying Bin Laden's body at sea could also prevent his final resting place from becoming a shrine and a place of pilgrimage for his followers."

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/862130-osama-bin-laden-buried-at-sea-after-being-killed-in-us-raid-in-pakistan#ixzz1LDd4lz7m

From Times Square to Ground Zero to the White House, the familiar chant of "USA , USA" resonated as citizens learned that the Osama bin Laden was dead.
The announcement sparked immediate jubilation. In Time Square, people gathered around giant news tickers to see the latest updates. 

It is indeed a day of celebration around the world, however, we have all been warned...this is most certainly not the end. 

Ed Miliband MP, UK opposition leader, says: "Osama Bin Laden committed one of history's most appalling acts of terrorism and the world is a safer place because he will no longer be able to command or encourage acts of terror. For the victims of 9/11 and their families, nothing can take away the pain of what happened but this will provide an important sense of justice. Despite the death of Osama Bin Laden, our vigilance against the perpetrators of terrorism must and will continue."

The BBC's Matt Frei, at Ground Zero in New York, says: "The atmosphere which was jubilant in the middle of the night has become somewhat more restrained... there is no real sense of closure, because people are expecting the threats to continue. There is a fine balance between relief and holding your guard."

Regardless, it is a start, a victory, and President Barack Obama and US Officials have done a great job! 

US President Barack Obama, speaking from the White House, in Washington, says: "Our country has kept its commitment that justice is done. Today, we are reminded that, as a nation, there is nothing we can't do when we remember the sense of unity that defines us."

So there we have it...a fairy tale ending...a prince gets married and lives happily ever after...and a terrorist, the bad guy/villan, gets killed. . .

. . .just the way it should be . . .    :-)

Much love,

Anokhi