The "burning issue on maternal health in the world's poorest countries is for women to take control of their own bodies and for their choices to be respected: when to have children, how often to have children, if to have children at all," columnist Marie Staunton writes in The Guardian. Although efforts to prevent maternal deaths "should be a priority," Staunton writes that "so should encouraging and empowering young women to pursue whatever life they choose for themselves."

However, the "reality is that many countries still continue to care little for a more holistic approach to women's health," she continues, adding that "we must address the unmet needs for family planning and reproductive health alongside the unmet needs of pregnant women." Staunton writes that "[w]e must provide more career prospects than the baby factory alone," a "call that echoed around last week's Women Deliver conference in Washington, D.C."

During the conference, there was "little talk ... of the most vulnerable and marginalized adolescent girls, including the hardest to reach groups falling furthest behind when it comes to accessing reproductive and maternal services," Staunton writes, noting that "[m]illions of these girls continue to miss out on health services." There was also "insufficient mention ... of the role to be played by that other marginalized group when debating this subject, men -- for they can be hugely underrated drivers of women's empowerment," Staunton continues.

She writes that the conference "showed the issue of maternal health sits proudly and commendably atop many people's agendas," noting that philanthropist Melinda Gates announced a $1.5 billion fund to "halt the pandemic of mother and child deaths across the developing world." In addition, there was discussion of a U.N. joint initiative to fast-track efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goal of improving maternal health.

However, "tinkering with the bolt as the sound of hooves recedes in the distance should never be proffered as best practice," Staunton writes. She adds that the conference's "events were not without merit, but we need a combination of new funding initiatives and political prioritization" (Staunton, The Guardian, 6/13).

Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families.

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