29 July 2019 09:54 am
The number of deaths among mothers during childbirth has increased in Sri Lanka with 40 deaths from 100,000 live births said Secretary Sri Lanka Medical Association Dr. Kapila Jayaratne.
In 2017, of the 326,000 mothers who’d had a live birth, 15% of them were over the age of 35, Dr. Jayaratne said. These valuable facts were revealed at a programme held in Colombo recently, that was jointly organised by the Sri Lanka Medical Association and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The aim of this seminar was to clarify certain myths and fallacies surrounding family planning methods used in Sri Lanka. It was highlighted that many families suffer and women are forced to go through much anxiety due to the mental stress they have to face as well as the excessive costs that are incurred due to unplanned pregnancies. He said that statistics show that 35 per cent of married women do not use contraceptives during sex.
On the positive side, it was revealed that pregnancies among adolescents have reduced to 4.6 per cent. He added that 10 – 13 per cent of deaths among mothers occur due to illegal abortions. (Ranjan Kasthuri)