Maternal and Child Health Commons^™

Reaching Millennium Development Goal Target 5.A.: Progress Towards Improving Maternal Health, Christina Kang

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In September 2000, 189 countries agreed upon striving to reach Millennium Development Goal 5, making great strides to improving maternal health by 2015. The indicators that would prove the goal’s success were determined to be directly correlated to a reduction of three-quarters of Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) from 1990 figures and having Skilled Birth Attendants (SBAs) present at all births by 2015 (United Nations, n.d.-a). Research has proven that while there has been a global trend towards reaching MDG 5, there is a large discrepancy amongst different regions and countries influencing its success. Through the usage of official United Nations …

Pregnant With Parasites: Assessing Parasitic Infections In Pregnant Women Of The Kwale District, Christina Hopkins Hopkins

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Parasitic infections such as malaria and intestinal worms plague many tropical and sub-tropical regions. The Kwale district of Kenya is among one of these regions and provides many circumstances that make these parasites endemic to the area. Pregnant women are part of the major groups affected by parasites. Although clinical professionals are making great attempts at reducing the chances for parasitic infections in these women, there are still some factors that are out of their control. Most women do not receive their drinking water from a secure water source and a majority of the women did not have the financial …

La Comunicación Entre Las Mujeres Embarazadas Y El Personal Médico Durante El Control Prenatal Enel Hospital Álvarezen La Ciudad De Buenos Aires, Argentina = The Communication Between Pregnant Women And Their Doctors During Prenatal Care In Hospital Alvarezin The City Of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Rebecca Oran

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In recent years, maternal mortality has continued to be a problem in Argentina. Even after the passage of the United Nations Millennium Goals, Argentina continued to have maternal mortality rates three times as high as its’ neighbors, Chile and Uruguay. Although the majority of the literature does not demonstrate a connection between prenatal care and the reduction of maternal mortality, in situations of high mortality, there is consensus surrounding the need for contact and communication between the woman and their doctors during their pregnancy. This study attempted to examine how both doctors and patients see this communication and how, if …

Dipo Rites And Women’S Health: Tradition Empowering Krobo Female Identity And Reproductive Health In Manya-Krobo, Nina Kearin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Objective: To understand the meaning and process of dipo rites and the correlation (if any) to the reproductive health of women in Manya-Krobo. This led to the research being aimed at answering three major questions.

1. What are dipo rites? This is taking into consideration the history of the rites, meaning of the rites, the process of the rites, and who practices the rites.
2. What is the status of women’s reproductive health in Manya-Krobo?
3. How are the dipo rites and the reproductive health of the women who practice them interconnected?

Methodology: I lived in Manya Krobo for most of April, 2013 …

Fa’Amatala Lau Tala: Samoan Pregnancy And Childbirth Narratives, Elsa Kendall

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Pregnancy is, for each individual woman, situated in a particular historical, social, and cultural understanding of her own body; the experience cannot be divorced from these components that inform what is deemed unhealthy or inappropriate. Most social research regarding pregnancy and childbirth focuses on economic and political implications. This study explored personal narratives of Samoan women’s experience with pregnancy and childbirth to shed light on cultural aspects of events. Seven women were interviewed as key informants using informal, unstructured interviews to better understand these topics, and are presented as a compilation of stories of the most intimate parts of their …

Mongolian Women's Voices: A Case Study On Maternal Healthcare, Pregnancy, And Birth In Ulaanbaatar's Public Hospitals, Amelia Olmsted

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Mongolia is a country undergoing an incredible amount of change. Last year, in 2011, they had the fastest growing economy in the world, with a 17.2% increase in their GDP, according to the World Bank. A mere 22 years ago, Mongolia was a communist country, and today they are a parliamentary democracy. The country has opened itself up to the rest of the world and a free market economy, and experienced a very drastic shift in this direction in the early 1990's. Many Mongolians will tell you that the mindset of Mongolia's citizens has made a drastic shift since communism …

Los Factores Sociales Que Influyen En El Embarazo Y En El Uso De Anticonceptivos De Adolescentes En El Barrio 25 De Mayo, Maipú, Mendoza., Isabel Odean

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Background: Adolescent pregnancy is a common phenomenon among those living in poverty. Adolescent pregnancy is influenced by many social and cultural factors, leading to lack of use of contraceptives. This study took place in the neighborhood 25 de Mayo, in the city of Maipú, Mendoza in Argentina. This community is mostly composed of people with low incomes and limited education. Socioeconomic and the attitudes toward teenage pregnancy, as well as the use of contraceptives by adolescents, are distinct from those in wealthier better educated groups. This neighborhood is approximately 10,000 people, the majority of whom are women. Most of the …

Is It Really Just All About Sex And Money? A Case Study Of Teenage Motherhood In The Village Of Kwaximba In The Valley Of A 1,000 Hills, Margaret Nelson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The aim of this learnership at the Valley Trust was to gain insight into why teenage girls in the Valley of the 1,000 Hills fall pregnant and what is the cost of early motherhood on the future of young women. Previous research of the province KwaZulu-Natal has revealed that teenage pregnancies are a large problem in school districts and restricting the future academic pursuits of teenage mothers. The learner worked alongside the Valley Trust in coordination with their outreach programs in the local villages of the Valley of a 1,000 Hills to learn fundamental and underlying reasons behind teenage pregnancy …

Lo Personal Es Político: La Lucha Por La Legalización Del Aborto En Chile, A Través De La Organización Feminista, Católicas Por El Derecho A Decidir, Gavin Odabashian

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper investigates the work of a small collective of women—Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir—and the practice of their activism in Valparaíso, Chile. I focus on the ways in which these women are strategically mobilizing as an organization to fight for justice for women in Chile—more specifically, for gender equality, access to reproductive rights, and the legalization of abortion in all cases. I examine the history of the organization, its form and structure, the projects and campaigns they are currently working on, the individual experiences of the women working within the organization, their perspectives on their work, …

Un Compromiso Al Parto Culturalmente Sensible: Una Evaluación De La Interculturalidad En Salud Reproductiva En El Norte De Chile, Kalin J. Gregory-Davis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este investigación observa, explora, y describe la interculturalidad en la salud reproductiva en la región de Arica y Parinacota en el norte de Chile durante el mes de mayo, 2012. A causa de la diversidad étnica de la región y las diferencias en las tradiciones y creencias acerca del parto aymara, natural y medicalizado, existe una necesidad de atención alternativa en el sistema de salud. El estudio describe la atención alternativa ofrecida a las mujeres aymara durante el embarazo y el parto. Empleando las perspectivas y las percepciones culturales de parteras aymaras, profesionales médicos occidentales y mujeres involucradas, el estudio …

An Outline Of Contraceptive Use In Mali, Lillie Carlile

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The global community continues to increase at alarming rates. October 2011 marked the world’s population at a record high of 7 billion people, and counting. This population growth is linked to many complex factors, an important one of which is maternal health. The World Bank reports that over 99% of maternal deaths occur in developing countries, more than half of which occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa.^[1] The term “maternal health” refers to the health of women before, during, and after pregnancy. A crucial factor in maternal health is contraception, as its use allows women to avoid or space pregnancies, effectively …

A Monitoring And Evaluation Plan For The Core Competencies Of Skilled Birth Attendants In Nepal, Roberta Goldstein

Capstone Collection

The purpose of this capstone is to present a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) plan of the core competencies, for Skilled Birth Attendants (SBA) of Nepal. The World Health Organization has laid out 10 specific skills that assess a SBAs competency. Nepal presently lacks any formal process for monitoring quality assurance of its SBAs and therefore has no measurement of their effectiveness. This Capstone proposes a simple M&E plan to begin the process of quality measurement, using a recent follow-up study done by the Nepali government, other articles and the experiences of the author. The tools included in this Capstone are …

Economic Empowerment And Hiv Prevention Among Young Women And Girls In Kenya: Lessons From The Study Of Economic Empowerment Programs, Samantha Van Putten

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

One of the major issues facing Kenya is HIV/AIDS. With recognition by the global community that providing women with economic opportunities can help both those who are HIV positive, as well as in prevention for those who are not infected, programs combining microfinance and HIV education have started to emerge. While women in these programs 3 3 have shown preliminary signs of success, young girls did not respond as well in part due to lack of interest in the particular programs themselves. As such, this study examines two economic empowerment programs for girls and young mothers at the non-governmental organization …

Doulas Going Dutch: The Role Of Professional Labor Support In The Netherlands, Monica He

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study uses a mixed method approach and medicalization theory to explore the new role of professional doulas in the Netherlands through the perspectives of women who have had doula-attended births. Survey data from the Dutch doula association is first analyzed in order to quantify women’s experiences with doula care and characterize their demographic information and birth outcomes. Simulatenously, nine in-depth interviews are conducted with Dutch and non- Dutch mothers who have recently had doula-attended births. The interviews focus on experiences with doula care in the context of the Dutch maternity care system. Quantitative analysis finds women who had doulas …

The Perfect Storm: How Pro-Abortion Activists In The Netherlands Incite Social Change From International Waters, Julia Ellis‐Kahana

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project is a sociological ethnography of the Women on Waves foundation, founded in 1999 by Dr. Rebecca Gomperts. As an international non-profit organization, they employ a direct action method: sailing to countries where abortion is illegal and providing safe abortion access. Local women board the ship that then travels 12 miles to international waters, where Dutch law applies, and the abortion pill can be administered legally. Using a feminist perspective, I interviewed five of the women at the organization in addition to the ship’s captain in order to understand the ideological beliefs about the reproductive rights that have inspired …

Reproductive Realities: Fulani Women & Contraception, Corrina Regnier

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper is the product of three weeks of research on contraception and the lives of married Fulani women in Ngaoundéré, Cameroon. Based on interviews with Fulani women, conducted both in French and in the Fulani language of Fulfulde with the aid of a French interpreter, I discuss the cultural and religious influences on women’s lives that impact their decisions or abilities to use contraception, as well as the ways these influences and realities have changed, are changing, and are expected to change in the future. I also look into the more practical concern of the availability and accessibility of …

When Mountain Bellies Grow Round: Localized Knowledge And Behaviors Facilitating Pregnancy And Childbirth In Phaphlu, Nepal, Cailin Marsden

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In attempts to gain a level of understanding of a community’s localized experiences, beliefs, practices, and roles around pregnancy and childbirth, ethnographic fieldwork was conducted with the mothers and fathers of Phaphlu in the Solukhumbu district of Nepal. Aimed at the validation of diverse and localized ways of knowing revealed during the fieldwork period, this paper applies anthropologist Bridgette Jordan’s theoretical framework of authoritative knowledge to the emergent themes of subjectively understood childbirth (knowledge acquisition and flow, role of the husband, and protective behavior.)

La Etnia Y Las Cesáreas En Los Partos En El Hospital Público De Arica, Chile, Marisa Westbrook

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The principal objective of this project was to explore the relationship between ethnicity and the causes for Caesarean section in the regional public hospital in Arica, Chile. All births recorded in the maternity register (n=907) were analyzed over a 4-month period in 2011. The regional public hospital had a 27% caesarean section rate, higher than the WHO-recommended 15%. Last names were analyzed and deemed to be either of Aymara descent (n=275) or of European descent (n=632) based on criteria used from CONADI, the National Corporation for Indigenous Development. The overall rate of Caesarean section did not differ between Aymara and …

El Papel De La Educación Y Las Ong’S En Mejorar El Acceso A Derechos Para Inmigrantes: El Caso De Los Derechos Sexuales Y Reproductivos = The Role Of Education And Ngo’S In Helping Immigrants Obtain Better Access To Their Rights: The Specific Case Of Sexual And Reproductive Rights, Amy Torres

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In January of 2004, Argentina approved a new immigration law that guaranteed the protection of human rights for all immigrants in the country regardless of their legal status with the State. Among the rights explicitly guaranteed by this law were the right to migrate, the right to education and the right to health care. While this law represents a significant advance by the Argentine government in protecting the human rights of immigrants, oppressive mechanisms still remain in everyday practices that inhibit actual access to their rights.

Considering the changes in the law and the breach between the laws and everyday …

Education As A Detour On The Path To Inevitable Motherhood: The Acquired Values And Collective Ambitions Of The Students At La Maison D’Education Mariama Ba, Hannah Deangelis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The values young Senegalese women acquire at home revolve around motherhood, domesticity and, above all, solidarity. The students lucky enough to attend La Maison D’Education Mariama Ba, the most elite girl’s high school in all of Senegal carry these community-centered values. Here, young Senegalese women have a chance to take a detour from the prescribed path that their gender has dictated by spending seven years living and studying with their peers in a highly intellectual setting. An understanding of the narratives of their lives before school, time spent at MEMB, and vision of their futures provides a lens through which …

Midwives, Rain, And Donkey Carts: Factors Affecting Women’S Decisions To Deliver At Home Or At A Clinic In Rural Mali, Jessica Preslar

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study focuses on this complex array of factors that affect women’s decisions or abilities to go to a local clinic, a Centre de Santé Communitaire (CSCOM), to give birth. The influence of money, distance from a CSCOM, and beliefs about the CSCOM and modern medicine are all investigated, as well as an open discussion about the decision and ability surrounding place of delivery.Both qualitative and quantitative data is gathered through interviews regarding these factors to allow for a broad range of data analysis; interviews are used to communicate directly with the women, and to obtain a more thorough understanding …

Factors That Contribute To The Low Uptake Of Skilled Care During Delivery In Malindi, Kenya, Alexandra Carter

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In Kenya, maternal mortality ratios remain high and the number of births attended by skilled health attendants hovers at just 44%. Using both qualitative and quantitative data, a study was conducted to determine the uptake of antenatal care and skilled attendance in Malindi District and to explore factors that contribute to the low use of maternal health services during delivery. It was found that after the first antenatal visit attendance to health facilities begins to decline ending in low rates of births attended by skilled care and that socio-cultural and economic factors play a larger role than access alone in …

Salud Reproductiva De Mujeres En Edad Fertil De La Zona De Intag: Deteccion Oportuna Del Cancer Cervico Uterino (Doc) Papanicolaou, Astia Roper-Batker

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

El cáncer delcuello uterino es el segundo más frecuente tipo de cáncer entre las mujeres a nivel mundial (15). La falta de planificación resulta en una alta incidencia de partos y abortos. Estos factores, junto con otros, significan una predisposición al cáncer del cuello uterino (18). El tratamiento más efectivo en la lucha contra este cáncer, es la prevención a través de la detección temprana por el examen de papanicolaou (16, 15,17). En la zona de Intag, localizada en Ecuador, 289 mujeres se realizaron papanicolaou y fueron encuestadas sobre su salud reproductiva. El estudio presente tiene por objetivo determinar si …

Mujeres En Las Sombras: Un Estudio Sobre El Aborto En Chile, Molly Serventi-Gleeson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Mi proyecto consistió en una investigación sobre la situación actual del aborto en Chile. A través de entrevistas con expertos y investigación directa, realicé una análisis de las razones históricas por la redacción de la ley permitiendo el aborto terapéutico, la situación hoy en día y la posibilidad de un cambio en el futuro. El aborto en Chile representa el nexo entre la historia, la política, la economía y la cultura Chilena. A través de mi estudio, concluí que los efectos de la dictadura resultó en una democracia incompleta, que no se atreve de hacer cambios a la estructura social …

75 Hours, 18 Babies, Dozens Of Women, And Me: Exploring Gynecological And Obstetrical Care In Bamako, Minnie Yordon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Mali has the third highest total fertility rate in the world, with each woman having an average of 6.62 children in the year 2009. Gynecological and obstetrical care, therefore, plays a large role in the lives of these women; 70% of women attend at least one prenatal consultation over the course of their pregnancy, and a skilled attendant is present at approximately 50% of all births. In this paper, I seek a better understanding of gynecological and obstetrical care in Bamako, the capital, from the perspective of an Ob/Gyn, which often centers on pregnancy and childbirth. Based on real experiences …

The Birds & The Bees Of The West Usambaras: Family Planning & Population Of Sagara & Kizanda Villages, Melissa Neville

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

My study in the West Usambaras took place November 2009. The main objectives of the study were to identify the principle family planning methods of women in Sagara and Kizanda villages, why those specific methods were used, and how they may be changing over time. The study also focused on the population growth and fertility rates of the two villages. I predicted that fertility rates were high and constant, and that most women would use traditional methods of birth control, with only a few choosing to use medication available at the local health clinic or dispensary. My predictions turned out …

El Rol De La Partera En La Provincia De Parinacota, Liana Langdon-Embry

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

For centuries, the Aymaran people of the Parinacota Province in Northern Chile have been deeply committed to ancestral practices, where a Cosmo vision rears a connection between human beings, the natural environment, and the spiritual world. The Aymaran medicinal practices replicate this relationship, with the indigenous medicine man and midwives historically holding a central role in the natural healing of community members. This study describes the present-day role of Señora Fausta Pairo Mollo, the midwife in the altiplano region of Parinacota. In particular, it examines how her practices has been integrated into the official medical system, while also investigating how …

“The Womb People” : Detection, Treatment, And Prevention Of Cervical Cancer With The Khayelitsha Cervical Cancer Screening Project In Khayelitsha, South Africa, Kirsten Lynch

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The current policy concerning cervical cancer screenings is not effectively addressing the specific needs of the female South African population. The program, as outlined by the South African Department of Health, is not sufficiently accessing women due to problems in availability, access, organization, and education. As women are living longer with HIV/AIDS, due to antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, they are becoming more susceptible to opportunistic infections that can lead to cervical cancer, such as Human strains of the virus can be prevented with administration of an HPV vaccination and advancement of precancerous lesions can be detected and treated with current technology. …

Smarter Mothers, Healthy Children, Smaller Families: A Look At The Impact Of Women’S Education On Family Planning Decisions In The Sultanate Of Oman, Kerala Hise

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Is there a single, perfect, cure-all policy that a government can enact to achieve sustained development? This is a question international organizations and individual leaders ask themselves every day. There will always be ‘less-developed’ nations, this is a reality of having ‘developed’ nations, but there is no reason that humanity should allow there to be ‘under-developed’ nations, not when we have at hand the tools and knowledge to enact immediate, sweeping changes now. However, because different people, different groups feel that their idea or proposal is of the utmost importance, that change is often never realized. Often, too much value …

Give Life Without Losing Life: The Casa Materna Of Matagalpa And The Struggle To Prevent Maternal Death, Lily Emiko Friedman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Maternal mortality has a face. It is the health indicator with the greatest disparity between the developed and developing worlds, disproportionately affecting poor women with low levels of education, high levels of fertility, and inadequate access to health services. It is the health inequality that most clearly shows how poor health outcomes continue to be directly linked to poverty and socioeconomic disadvantage, while the right to safe pregnancy and motherhood comes with economic privilege. As it occupies such a critical position in community health, maternal mortality has been widely studied and the target of countless health interventions aimed at its …