BY ALLISON KOZICHAROW; EDITED BY BERNICE BORN
Sepsis is a common and dangerous infection in pregnant women and a leading cause of maternal death, killing around 35,000 women and one million newborn babies every year.
WiRED International just released a module on maternal sepsis into its Health Learning Center. The module is in the Labor and Delivery section of WiRED’s 24-part Mother and Child Health Series. WiRED’s Maternal Sepsis Module describes the condition, its causes, signs and symptoms, diagnosis, risk factors and, most important of all, how to prevent it.
The World Health Organization (WHO) describes maternal sepsis as a life-threatening condition defined as organ dysfunction resulting from infection during pregnancy, childbirth, post-abortion or postpartum periods.
Infections can progress rapidly to severe sepsis in pregnant women, even when antibiotics are administered. Undetected or poorly managed maternal infections can lead to sepsis, death or disability for the mother and the increased likelihood of early neonatal infection and other adverse outcomes. Early treatment of sepsis, usually with antibiotics and large amounts of intravenous fluids, improves chances for survival.
The global burden of maternal deaths directly associated with infection is higher in low- and middle-income countries, with the greatest burden in Southern Asia (13.7%) and Sub-Saharan Africa (10.3%), compared to that in high-income countries (4.7%).
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated, “The tragedy is that most of these deaths could have been prevented. Overcrowded hospitals and poorly resourced facilities put pregnant women and their babies at high risk of infection from sepsis.”
You can download the modules in this story, and all 400+ of our health modules, through WiRED’s Health Module Access Program (HealthMAP) by clicking here. This easy to use program will enable you to create your own customized library of health education training modules. You can learn more about HealthMAP through WiRED's animation.
WiRED’s Mother and Child Health Series
WiRED’s Mother and Child Health Series provides a 24-part comprehensive training program to assist families, caregivers, community health workers and others with subjects related to the following four topics: Before Pregnancy, Pregnant Now, Labor and Delivery, and Parenting. The Mother and Child Health series will be used by schools, clinics and hospitals and nongovernmental organizations that help families prepare for a healthy pregnancy, delivery and the years of childhood up to age five.
WiRED embraces WHO’s maternal, newborn and child health principle, “Continuum of Care,” in which skilled care during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period prevents complications and allows for their early detection and appropriate management.