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Global notes: what is the cost of being a woman?

Journal of Perinatology volume 29, pages 719–720 (2009)Cite this article

So far, writings under this column have focused mainly on issues related to newborns and infants. Although these are important issues, we would miss the point if we failed to address the issues of women and their health, which are closely related to child health. Indeed, issues of women's health are much larger on a global scale and more than those related to child bearing and its consequences.

Women bear a major brunt of pregnancy-related health issues, conditions such as hypertension and diabetes. These issues sometimes are classified as transient, whereas others may lead to permanent disabilities. The ultimate cost of pregnancy could be ‘life’ itself, more so in developing countries, which include the majority of the global population. Globally, an estimated 600 000 women die every year from pregnancy-related causes.1 This is a staggeringly sobering number. That is only a part of the story. According to estimates, for every pregnancy-related death, 30 women end up with permanent disabilities, a major loss of human resources.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA

    D Vidyasagar

  2. Department of International Health, School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    D Vidyasagar

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  1. D Vidyasagar
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Correspondence to D Vidyasagar.

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Vidyasagar, D. Global notes: what is the cost of being a woman?. J Perinatol 29, 719–720 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2009.74

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