A study published in the British journal The Lancet shows that the number of women who die following a caesarean section is much higher in Africa, compared to rich countries.
One in 200 African women dies from caesarean section. In the medical journal The Lancet, African researchers publish the results of a large study conducted on mortality and caesarean section on the continent. In Africa, the caesarean mortality rate is 50 times higher than in rich countries.
5.43 deaths per 1000 operations
The data collected concern 3,684 women who gave birth by caesarean section in 22 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, over a period of seven days in 2016. In total, 20 women died during childbirth or in the 28 days following it. followed. This represents 5.43 deaths per 1000 operations, the same rate in Europe is around 0.1 deaths per thousand.
More frequent complications
633 women had complications during or after delivery, mainly bleeding. According to the study, African women have three times more complications than women in high-income countries. The risk of preoperative complications is high for a large proportion of mothers, since many of them suffer from complications during pregnancy: rupture of the uterus, placental complications, bleeding, etc. In nearly 80% of cases, caesareans are performed urgently.
A series of recommendations
Bruce Biccard is one of the authors of this study, and advocates improving access to cesarean section. This could allow women to be taken care of earlier to avoid certain complications. It also suggests improving the safety of these operations by identifying the risks of bleeding well in advance, by reducing restrictions on the use of anti-haemorrhagic treatments or by facilitating access to blood products with a long shelf life.
This professor recommends helping to train non-doctors in anesthesia through applications or websites. In Africa, the caesarean section rate is generally less than 10%, while the international scientific community agrees that the necessary caesarean section rate would be between 10 and 15%.
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