Maternal Health Landscape in Tanzania and Zanzibar
Though worldwide rates of maternal mortality have seen a decrease of almost 50% in the past 25 years, the quality of maternal healthcare still varies greatly from region to region. Hundreds of thousands of women die each year due to complications during pregnancy, and rates of maternal mortality are 14 times higher in developing regions.1In developing countries, many women experience hemorrhaging during delivery and postpartum. Most cases of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) are preventable by actively managing the third stage of labor (AMTSL). However, the majority of women in resource-poor areas are not attended by a trained medical professional while giving birth, so they cannot get the care they need. In both mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar, only half of the women giving birth are accompanied by a skilled health provider. Rates are lowest in the northern region of Pemba Island, part of the Zanzibar Archipelago, where only a quarter of women have assistance during childbirth.2 In 2013, antepartum and postpartum hemorrhage accounted for 44% of maternal deaths in Zanzibar.3
In order to stop PPH, we must first understand its causes. In most cases, mothers with PPH are anemic. When anemic women lose blood during birth, they are at greater risk of complications and death than women who are not anemic. Fifty-eight percent of women in Zanzibar between ages 15-49 are anemic. There are many types of anemia, but the most common form in developing countries like Zanzibar is iron-deficiency anemia, in which their diet does not consist of enough iron or they are susceptible to parasites which consume the iron inside of their body. Iron supplements are one possible solution to this issue; however, far less than half of the women in Zanzibar are receiving the proper supplementation. The mainland of Tanzania is even more desperate for iron supplements, in which many regions have as little as 1% of women receiving proper supplementation.2 If we can find a way to diagnose or decrease anemia in these developing countries, we can decrease the percentage of mothers who are suffering from PPH.
Although there are many factors contributing to maternal mortality in Zanzibar, including pre-eclampsia, malnutrition, and sepsis, we have chosen to focus primarily on anemia and PPH. As these are the most prominent issues in Zanzibar, we feel that effective technological solutions to address them will have the most widespread impact.
References
1http://www.unfpa.org/publications/trends-maternal-mortality-1990-2013
2Tanzania Atlas of Maternal Health, Child Health, and Nutrition, 2010
3http://info.zanhealth.go.tz/causes-of-maternal-death-in-zanzibar/
