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WHY KYBELE

WHY KYBELE

FACTS: CHILDBIRTH STATISTICS

  • Pregnancy and childbirth are among the leading causes of death and disability among women worldwide. Each year, roughly 287,000 women and girls still die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth—equating to nearly 800 women who die each day from pregnancy and childbirth related causes
  • Maternal mortality is a health indicator with one of the greatest disparities between high- and low- to middle-income countries. In 2020, the lifetime risk of maternal death in low-income countries as a whole was 1 in 49, compared to 1 in 5,300 in high-income countries. Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounts for approximately 70% of maternal deaths. Most deaths could be prevented when high-quality maternal and perinatal health care is prioritized and available for every woman and baby.
  • Among neonates, most deaths (75%) occur in the first week of life and about 1 million newborns die within the first 24 hours–largely from preventable causes related to premature birth, birth complications like asphyxia, and neonatal infections. Globally, each year approximately 10 million babies do not breathe immediately at birth, 6 million require basic neonatal resuscitation, and nearly 1 million newborns take their first and last breaths on the day they are born. Each year, millions of babies are poorly resuscitated, leading to lifelong disability or death. Simple training to assist a baby in breathing at birth could prevent this. The first minutes of life are critical and health care workers must be trained to systematically assess and manage newborn asphyxia.
  • The vast majority of maternal and newborn deaths occur in low-resource countries. Improving survival is possible with high-impact, evidence-based services by skilled health personnel, including care for small and sick newborns and emergency obstetric care.

It is clear that inadequate health care contributes to needless death and disability of mothers and newborns in countries around the world. The most current medical knowledge and procedures are not available in many countries. Yet, physicians and nurses are keen to educate themselves in the techniques that are routine in many countries around the world.

Kybele has seen firsthand how expanding education with hands-on training can dramatically improve medical practices. Our goal is to reduce maternal and newborn suffering and death. Kybele is about teaching, hands-on facilitation and creating ongoing medical education partnerships to improve childbirth safety.