ABSTRACT
PIP: The Chilean Association for the protection of the Family was founded 21 years ago in response to serious problems in maternal and child health. A brief history of birth control programs in Chile shows that initial strong government support has been tempered since 1979 by concern over the sharp drop in the birth rate. The number of abortions in Chile has decreased from 28.7/1000 women of reproductive age in 1964 to 11.3/1000 in 1984. Maternal mortality has decreased from 28.6/10000 live births to 3.6/10000 in the same time. Thus these 2 objectives have been very successful. The sharpest decline in the birth rate has been among women over 35 years old, and women of low educational level, indicating perhaps that a greater proportion of children are being born to women most suited to have them. There has been a decrease in the proportion of high risk pregnancies. A high correlation has been found between economic indicators and fecundity, indicating that reproductive behavior is strongly influenced by economic contingencies. Maternal and infant mortality are multifactorial and many different approaches are needed to reduce them. Nevertheless, in the past 20 years, chile has been able to make significant advances in these areas.^ieng
Subject(s)
Abortion, Induced , Birth Rate , Family Planning Services , Infant Mortality , Maternal Mortality , Population Characteristics , Americas , Chile , Demography , Developed Countries , Developing Countries , Fertility , Latin America , Mortality , Population , Population Dynamics , Research , South AmericaABSTRACT
PIP: A study was carried out from 1957-1977 which investigated the incidence of maternal mortality in the Hospital das Clinicas, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirao Preto. The yearly distribution of these deaths related to the resolution of pregnancy always showed predominance of the abortion group over the others (pregnant patients, normal delivery, and surgical delivery), with increased evidence starting at the beginning of the 1970's. When the deaths were distributed by relating pregnancy resolution to marital status, absolute predominance of married over single patients was observed, including the abortion group. When the site of the 21st obstetrical aid was considered, it was observed that in 17 of 68 cases studied, the patients were directed to another hospital or delivered at home assisted by a midwife. The mortality rate for the entire period studied was 22.04%. When the cases receiving 1st obstetrical aid outside the Hospital das Clinicas are subtracted, the rate drops to 16.53% and to 8.1% when the abortion group is also excluded. On the basis of these data, it was concluded that abortion is the greatest medical-social problem detected in this study.^ieng