UNICEF has reported that deaths of children under five has fallen below 10 million per year for the first time in modern history. UNICEF says:
much of the progress reflected in the new child mortality figures is the result of widespread adoption of basic health interventions such as early and exclusive breastfeeding, measles immunization, vitamin A supplementation to boost children’s immune systems, and the use of insecticide-treated bednets to prevent malaria.
Proper treatment of pneumonia, diarrhoeal diseases and severe malnutrition, and treatment of paediatric HIV/AIDS, are also important for child survival – as are hygiene promotion and access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
Despite the progress, UNICEF’s executive director Ann M. Veneman stressed that there is still a long way to go. “The loss of 9.7 million young lives each year is unacceptable,” she said. “Most of these deaths are preventable and, as recent progress shows, the solutions are tried and tested.”
Legalized Midwifery in Saskatchewan Could be Delayed Again
The Regina Leader-Post reported this week that an unfortunate oversight could delay legislation legalizing midwifery in Saskatchewan even longer. Unlike other provinces, Saskatchewan’s Midwifery Act does not allow midwives to provide professional services to the newborn at birth and for the six weeks afterwards -- just while the woman is pregnant and during labour. The process has already taken eight years but the council trying to establish a Saskatchewan College of Midwives doesn’t want legislation to move ahead without amending the Act.
Response on homebirth issue
The Register-Guard paper of Eugene, OR ran this opinion piece on homebirth that is a fitting response to some of the negative opinions that have run in Canada.com papers across the country following the news of a coroner in Quebec calling for changes to Quebec midwifery in his report into the death of an infant at a homebirth in late 2006. The piece is obviously intended for an American audience, but nevertheless it is well-written and presented.
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