Birth Control Saves Women's Lives

Meeting the global need for contraception could cut maternal mortality by
an additional 29%.

Family planning prevents maternal deaths due to pregnancy complications
(including unsafe abortion, which accounts for 13% of maternal deaths
worldwide). Each year, 50 million women seek pregnancy termination, which
remains illegal and unsafe in many countries. To estimate the effect of
satisfying the unmet need for contraception, information from the Maternal
Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group database, the UN World
Contraceptive Use 2010 database, and the UN World Population Prospects 2010
database was used to model maternal deaths averted by contraceptive use in
172 countries. The researchers then modeled the number of additional
maternal deaths that could be averted if the global need for contraception
were met.

These models estimate that the current level of contraceptive use averted
272,040 premature maternal deaths worldwide in 2008. Without contraceptive
use, maternal mortality would have been 1.8 times higher. The models also
suggest that satisfying the unmet need for contraception could prevent an
additional 104,000 maternal deaths annually, a 29% reduction from the
current rate.

Comment: Although many people have long recognized family planning as a
cornerstone of global health and development, international commitment to
funding for these essential health services has remained limited. This is
unfortunate, as investments in contraception are estimated to save up to
US$7 for every dollar invested (Am J Public Health 2009; 99:446). As
Melinda Gates has said, there should be "no controversy in contraception."

-- Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, MD, MS

Published in Journal Watch Women's Health August 16, 2012 Citation(s):

Ahmed S et al. Maternal deaths averted by contraceptive use: An analysis of
172 countries. Lancet 2012 Jul 14; 380:111.