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Monday, March 11, 2013

Scholar supports planning to prevent maternal, newborn deaths

KARACHI: Birth planning and spacing must not be out rightly rejected in our society as it not only ensures maternal and newborn health but also allows a mother to fully cater to the needs of her existing children, said a senior religious scholar, Mufti Abdur Razzaque of Tanzeem-ul-Ehsaan. Pakistan’s maternal mortality rate is the highest in South Asia and 12,000 mothers die here during childbirth each year.

He stressed on the importance of family planning as a way to prevent maternal and newborn deaths, adding, that children’s grooming and care is likely to suffer due to persistent births in a family especially when there is only one person in a house taking care of several children.

Under these circumstances it becomes extremely important to meet educational and other expenses of children. Interval between the births of children used to be a method of birth spacing or family planning in the early years of Islam and today modern era has many types of birth control, continued Mufti Razzaque. The scholar regretted that while the acts of terrorism get more media coverage and national attention, no value is assigned to the millions of mothers and newborns who lose their lives every year.

Newborns fare no better and Pakistan has one of the highest numbers of neonatal deaths in the region, an estimated 298,000 newborns die annually. Babies who survive the crucial 40 days after birth often remain in poor health. Many die before their 5th birthday (Pakistan’s under-5 mortality rate was 424,377 in 2010). app

Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk

 

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