Nepal Earthquake may Affect Health Services for Nearly 50,000 Pregnant Women

The number of pregnancy-related deaths and gender-based violence increases during natural disasters, and protection from such threats is crucial, says the UN.

A UN agency reported that the devastating earthquake in Nepal would affect nearly 50,000 pregnant women. Initial estimates by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) indicate that some 50,000 pregnant women and girls could be among the survivors in quake-affected Nepal where at least 4,347 lives were lost.

The toll continues to mount days after a devastating 7.9-magnitude earthquake jolted Nepal on April 25, 2015.

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Pregnant women affected by the disaster require maternal health services, including antenatal care, safe delivery services, postpartum care and, for those who experience complications, emergency obstetric services. Protection for women and girls from gender-based-violence and other threats will also be critical, said the UN agency.

"In times of upheaval or natural disasters, pregnancy-related deaths and gender-based violence soar," said Priya Marwah, UNFPA’s humanitarian response coordinator in Asia and the Pacific. "Many women lose access to essential reproductive health services and give birth in appalling conditions without access to safe delivery services and lifesaving care."

UNFPA is coordinating with the government and humanitarian partners to respond to these needs in Nepal. Emergency staff members are being deployed, and reproductive health kits are en route to the quake-hit areas in the Himalayan nation.

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"The fund is particularly concerned about the fate of pregnant women who have been affected by this tragedy, including those who might face potentially life-threatening complications," said UNFPA executive director Babatunde Osotimehin.

Source-Medindia

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