Achieving Safe Motherhood Globally - An Historical Overview

This book provides an overview of the progress towards making childbirth safe for every woman whatever her social status and wherever she may reside. Reaching back some 300 years, early progress in Scandinavia is reviewed before progress across Europe and the rest of the world is examined. Various initiatives and targets that have been set nationally and globally are considered and the situation in the early 21st century is studied against an historical backdrop of both achievement and adversity. The changing emphasis in the approach to Safe Motherhood is reviewed as there has been a move away from inevitable medical intervention towards social justice, human rights and respectful care. The book outlines the development of some of the policies and practices that are contributing to progress. It highlights the importance of skilled attendance during childbirth and shares examples of where and how this has been achieved. The text points towards an unfinished task as a massive global effort continues to encompass the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable women and their newborns across the world.