Can health education improve pregnancy outcome? : Report of a grassroots action-education campaign

Abstract

Pregnancy outcome in any given community-the probability of a pregnancy terminating in a full-term, healthy live birth-is a powerful indicator of the health status of its women, and of the quality of health care available to them during pregnancy and birth. There is a two-way relationship between women’s health and pregnancy outcome. That poor maternal health results in high rates of foetal and early infant death is well known. It is often not just the cause, but also the consequence of repeated miscarriages, stillbirths as well as early infant deaths. Incomplete miscarriages when not treated are a source of serious reproductive tract infection. Fetal death in uterus, if not detected in time and followed up with prompt hospitalisation, can endanger the mother's life. Repeated attempts at pregnancy to compensate for these losses can result in great physical and emotional damage. And yet, for poor women, especially in developing countries, this is a common phenomenon.