Minister says pregnancy deaths can be avoided

She said the leading causes of deaths during child birth or pregnancy are severe bleeding, infections, unsafe abortion, obstructed labour and high blood pressure. "Some of the deaths are related to pre-existing medical conditions which are aggravated by pregnancy such as HIV, anaemia, malaria and others.

In Botswana, our facility based maternal deaths were recorded as 67 in 2004, 53 in 2005 and 66 in 2006," she said. Tlou was speaking ahead of the World Population Day celebrated today (July 11). The celebrations seek to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues, particularly in the context of overall development.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has chosen 'Men as partners in maternal health' as the theme for this year's celebrations. Men are urged to participate as partners in maternal health to significantly reduce the number of women who die during childbirth.
The UNFPA website says that every minute, a woman dies and 20 or more experience serious complications.