Today is May 28. National Safe Motherhood Day is being observed across the country to create awareness on proper healthcare and maternity facilities to pregnant and lactating women.

Motherhood should be a time of expectation and joy for a woman, her family, and her community. A safe motherhood is extremely needed to raise a safe future for the country as mothers are the creator of potential future generation.

For women in developing countries, however, the reality of motherhood is often grim. For these women, motherhood are often marred by unforeseen complications of pregnancy and childbirth.

Some die in the prime period of their lives and in great distress: from hemorrhage, convulsions, obstructed labor, or severe infection after delivery or unsafe abortion.

Worldwide, it is estimated that 529,000 women die yearly from complications of pregnancy and childbirth—about one woman every minute. Some 99 percent of these deaths occur in developing countries, where a woman’s lifetime risk of dying from pregnancy-related complications is 45 times higher than that of her counterparts in developed countries.

The risk of dying from pregnancy-related complications is highest in sub-Saharan Africa and in South-Central Asia, where in some countries the maternal mortality ratios are more than 1,000 deaths per 100,000 live births.



Sixty to eighty percent of maternal deaths are due to obstetric hemorrhage, obstructed labor, obstetric sepsis, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, and complications of unsafe abortion. These direct complications are unpredictable and most occur within hours or days after delivery.

Maternal death and disability are the leading cause of healthy life years lost for developing country women of reproductive age, accounting for more than 28 million disability-adjusted life years lost and at least 18 percent of the burden of disease in these women.

For each woman who dies, an estimated 100 women survive childbearing but suffer from serious disease, disability, or physical damage caused by pregnancy-related complications. Long-term consequences of pregnancy-related complications include uterine prolapse, pelvic inflammatory disease, fistula, incontinence, infertility, and pain during sexual intercourse.

A mother’s death carries profound consequences not only for her family, especially her surviving children, but also for her community and country. In some developing countries, if the mother dies, the risk of death for her children under age 5 is doubled or tripled.

In addition, because a woman dies during her most productive years, her death has a strong social and economic impact—her family and community lose a productive worker and a primary care giver.

Marking the day, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged the doctors and others concerned to play their due role in ensuring "safe motherhood" for all expecting mothers.



In separate messages, on the occasion of the National Safe Motherhood Day-2015, they reiterated the government`s commitment to reduce mother and child mortality rate in the country through ensuring their better health.

President Abdul Hamid, in his message, said mother and child mortality rate have reduced significantly due to different prudent steps undertaken by the government, and the country`s such success has been lauded at home and abroad.

"There is no alternative to safe motherhood for healthy newborn babies and beautiful life which can be possible through proper nursing during pregnancy, planned birth and ensuring safe delivery," he observed.

With the united efforts of the government, NGOs, national and international organizations, Abdul Hamid said, maternal mortality rate has come down to 170 per one lakh and neonatal death to 28 per thousand.

"Bangladesh achieved the UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) prize for achieving millennium development target which was a rare honour for us," the President said.

Terming this year`s theme of the day "Let every birth be planned, Let every delivery be safe", which is time-befitting in the current perspective, Abdul Hamid said.

In her message, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the government has taken massive programmes in the last six and a half years especially for developing maternal and child care.

In view of this, she said, the government has taken an initiative for providing emergency maternity service for reducing child and maternal mortality rates, midwifery training, and appointment are given in different health complexes resulting in reduction in maternal and child mortality rate significantly.



Besides, "maternal health voucher scheme" for poor and destitute mothers, community-based skilled birth attendants, family planning and EPI programme are being implemented, she said.

Maternity leave has been increased to six months resulting in significant reduction of maternal and child mortality rates, she said, adding, "We got recognition both at home and abroad for this success and also achieved the UN MDG prize and the "South-South Award" for it."

The Prime Minister expressed the hope that the country would be able to bring dynamism in maternal and child healthcare activities for reducing maternal and child maternity rates with the coordinated efforts of development partners, NGOs, private organisations side by side with the government.

The President and the Prime Minister wished every success of the programmes of the National Safe