Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 8th Dec. World health agency and the Lancet Global Health in a new study published on Thursday highlighted that every year at least 40 million women are likely to experience a long-term health problem caused by childbirth.
The report is a part of a special series on maternal health, the study showed a high burden of postnatal conditions that persist in the months or even years after giving birth.
These include pain during sexual intercourse (known as dyspareunia), affecting more than a third of postpartum women, low back pain, anal incontinence and urinary incontinence.
The study suggested other conditions include anxiety, depression, perineal pain, fear of childbirth and secondary infertility.
WHO said that the authors of the paper called for greater recognition within healthcare systems of these common problems, many of which occur beyond the point where women have access to postnatal services.
They argued that effective care throughout pregnancy and childbirth is also a critical preventive factor to detect risks and avert complications that can lead to lasting health issues after birth.
Dr. Pascale Allotey, Director of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research at the World Health Organization that “Many postpartum conditions cause considerable suffering in women’s daily life long after birth, both emotionally and physically, and yet they are largely underappreciated, underrecognized, and underreported”.
He added that “Throughout their lives, and beyond motherhood, women need access to a range of services from healthcare providers who listen to their concerns and meet their needs – so they not only survive childbirth but can enjoy good health and quality of life.”
The paper noted that these conditions have been largely neglected in clinical research, practice and policy even though they occur commonly.
The authors of the report identified no recent high-quality guidelines published in the past 12 years to support effective treatment for around 40 per cent of the 32 priority conditions analysed and could not find a single high-quality guideline from a low or middle-income country.
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