Being pregnant in rural areas in Kenya means having one foot in the grave

Giving birth should be about giving life and not giving up life. Unfortunately too many women in rural areas are dying due to complications during pregnancy and child birth.

It is estimated that 830 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and child birth every day in the world. In 2015 roughly 303,000 women died during pregnancy and child birth. 99% of all these deaths occur in developing countries and is higher in poor women living in rural areas. Moreover young adolescents in rural areas face a higher risk of complications and death as a result of pregnancy than other women.

Studies have shown that women in rural areas have more pregnancies than women in urban areas and their lifetime risk of death due to pregnancy is higher. The probability that a 17-year-old woman will die from maternal cause in rural areas is 1 in 180 and in some areas it is 1 in 54.

The high numbers of maternal deaths in rural areas reflects the inequities in access to health care services and highlights the gap between the rich and the poor. It also offers a litmus test of the status of women, their access to health care services and the adequacy of the health care system in responding to their needs.

The major complications that account for nearly 85% of all maternal deaths in rural areas are: Severe bleeding, infection after child birth, unsafe abortion, and high blood pressure during pregnancy and complications from delivery.

Poor women in rural areas are normally the least likely to receive adequate health care services. Most parts of rural Kenya are normally marginalized. They lack health care facilities, skilled health care workers and health equipment. 49% of women in rural areas don't have access to skilled health care during child birth. This means that thousands of births in these areas are not assisted by midwives, doctors and nurses.

Research has shown that poverty, distance, lack of information, inadequate services and cultural practices  prevent women living in rural areas from receiving or seeking care during pregnancy and child birth.

If we are to achieve the target of vision 2030 which is to reduce maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 births, the county governments must improve maternal health in rural areas and focus more in addressing barriers that limit these women from accessing quality maternal health care services at all levels of the health system.

I believe that women have a right to access antenatal care in pregnancy, skilled care during birth and care and support in the weeks after birth.