The Hubert de Watteville Memorial Lecture. Imagine a world where motherhood is safe for all women--you can help make it happen.
The neglected tragedy of maternal mortality is a health scandal of our time. Motherhood can be made safe for all women and obstetricians have a global social responsibility to make it happen. Ten propositions are outlined: safe motherhood is to be recognized as a woman's human right; a woman's life is to be considered worth saving; life-saving emergency obstetric care is to made accessible to all women when they need it; all deliveries are to be attended by skilled birth attendants; all pregnant women are to have access to prenatal care; motherhood must be a voluntary woman's choice; making motherhood safe for all women is to be an international commitment; lack of resources in developing countries is not to be accepted as an excuse for inaction; women, North and South should mobilize for women's right to life; and our profession should act without national frontiers. The challenge is great, but so also is the reward.
Fathalla
M F
MF
Depsartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Assiut University, P.O. Box 30, Assiut, Egypt. mfathalla@intouch.com
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008428:Maternal Mortality; D008429:Maternal Welfare