Maternal mortality is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42days of termination of pregnancy irrespective of the duration of the site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management, but not from accidental or incidental causes.

Going by this definition, maternal mortality can be classified as:
Direct obstetric death: This results from obstetric complications from pregnancy, labour or afterbirth.
Indirect obstetric death: These results from previous existing diseases that developed
during pregnancy. (International classification of disease 9th Edition)
Deaths during or following pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth and induced abortion are all included as maternal deaths.

Maternal mortality was until the 20th century considered natural and part of a woman’s fate. The beginning of the 20th century gave rise to existing women’s organization and medical professionals actively involved in measures aimed at preventing maternal mortality.

Recent findings which painted a gloomy picture of maternal health profile in developing countries showed that a woman living in Sub-Saharan Africa has one in 16 chances of dying in pregnancy or childbirth. WHO, UNICEF and UNEPA the agencies
that carried out the research declared this comparing it with one in 2,800 risks for women from a developed region.
Of an estimated 529,000 maternal deaths in the year 2000, 95% occurred in Africa and Asia, while only 4% occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean, and less than 1% in the more developed region of the world. (Guardian newspaper December 4 2003, pg. 36)

Experience from successful maternal health programs shows that much of this death and suffering could be avoided if all women had the assistance of a skilled health worker during pregnancy, delivery, and access to emergency medical care when complications arise.

Dr. Lee John Wook director-general of W.H.O. bearing his mind on maternal mortality expressed thus:
“Many women deliver their children along or with family members untrained attendants who lack skills to deal with complication during delivery”
Therefore only skilled attendants are in a position to recognize medical crises and provide life saving care when complications arise.

Reducing maternal mortality is a key factor that ensures survival for children through adolescence stage. Adolescence is the transition from childhood to adulthood. It is marked by profound physical, mental and social changes. The word adolescent stands for boyish, girlish, growing teenage, young adults, youthful, youngster or teenage (Collins Concise Dictionary and Thesaurus 1995, pg. 14)



The World Health Organization defined Adolescents as those between 1 and 19yrs. The WHO has defined Adolescents as

 Progression from appearance of secondary sex characteristics (Puberty) to sexual reproductive maturity.
 Development of adult, mental processes and adult mentality.
 Transition from total socio-economic dependence to relative independence.
(Population reports 1995, pg. 3)
Going by their characteristics, they are a vulnerable age group. At this stage vulnerability to social vices, peers pressure e.t.c. may be inevitable. This is by virtue of them encountering numerous psychological social and economic obstacles. These when overlooked or not adequately addressed results in constituting handicapped adolescesents and may eventually lead them into prostitution, armed robbery and thuggery e.t.c. to meet their needs.
As earlier noted adolescence is the transition from childhood to adulthood. Apparently, survival through the adolescent’s period is very essiential.This period to a very large extent determines adulthood. As a result requires strict guidance. At this stage adequate maternal support is very vital in the live of every child.

When a mother dies leaving her child behind the issue of maternal support arises. How much external assistance can guarantee such child a safe tread through adolescence?
All adolescents need this support. Maternal support would serve as guidance ultimately helping a child survive and thrive through the adolescence stage. Absence of this becomes a challenge, a challenge for unprepared adolescents whose response will affect the rest of their lives.

Suffice to say at this stage that the general quality of women’s health and lives needs improvement from infancy through adolescence and into adulthood. This will enable women enter and survive pregnancy in good health and equally help reduce maternal mortality. Bearing in mind that reducing maternal mortality amongst other existing factors is one key factor in ensuring children survive and thrive through adolescence.

Esther Okhiade

Whatever you are perfect at is what you had or still have
passion for. Passion leads to constant practice and this everyone knows makes perfect. Indeed passion and perfection goes together.
Whatever you don’t have a passion for you may never be perfect at because you would not want to practice. In other to prove this beyond reasonable doubts, ask any successful man or woman whether or not there was a passion at the early stage.
You will then discover that indeed :
PASSION WILL CREATE ROOM FOR PERFECFECTION
Esther

Are ready to talk?
Express yourself
Expression is one powerful tool of man
Hence it’s a fundamental provision on human rights:
(FREEDOM OF EXRESSION) chap.4 Sec 39 of 1999 Const. (Nig)
Never allow anyone suppress what you need to EXPRESS!!!!!!!!!!

Esther

"I HAVE A DREAM" this was one very popular line of Martin Luther King jnr during his lifetime. The dream he had yesterday is a reality today. Aside the fact that many have benefited from his dream, he is remembered particularly for this dream.

Dreams are an ambition or ideal especially when its not very realistic. Anyone can dream actually, what really matters is the Nature of your dream. Many things we enjoy today are end products of dreams. Whatever you are today or will become tomorrow depends on the much you’ve done towards actualizing your dream.

So many dream but never live to actualize their dreams. They die with their dreams. This is rather unfortunate. You can actualize your dreams irrespective of the circumstances or the situation you find yourself.

Do you have a dream? Whatever your dream, you can actualize it. All you need do is be:
Diligent
Responsive
Evasive
Articulate
Mull
If you can dream it you can be it.

Esther

Adolescent is the transition from childhood to adulthood. It is marked by profound physical, mental and social changes. The word adolescent stands for boyish, girlish, growing teenage, young adults, youthful, youngster or teenage (Collins Concise Dictionary and Thesaurus 1995, pg. 14)

The World Health Organization defined Adolescents as those between 1 and 19yrs and youths as persons between 19-24yrs. The WHO has defined Adolescents as

1. Progression from appearance of secondary sex characteristics (Puberty) to sexual reproductive maturity.
2. Development of adult, mental processes and adult mentality.
3.Transition from total socio-economic dependence to relative independence.
(Population reports 1995, pg. 3)

However for this purpose, I define Adolescents as THE TIME PERIOD FROM AGES 10-24. For this reason I shall use the terms Adolescents, youth, young adult, and young people interchangeably.

Today one in every five person in the world is an adolescent. Young adults are known to constitute a significant proportion of the Nigerian population. A result from the 1999 Nigerian Population Census indicates that young adults aged 10-25yrs account for approximately 22% of the population. Thus male and female young adults presently number about 26million in Nigeria. Indeed this represents one of the largest single critical mass of young people in the developing world.

The United Nations Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis (1994) gave an estimate of Nigeria’s population. It indicated that by the year 2015 the population of adolescents in Nigeria age 21-24 would be nearly 62million. Being more than the population in France in 1994.The population of adolescents in Nigeria is really staggering/shocking. This definitely has a lot of implications for the country.

Adolescents/youths perhaps are the most important group in a given society. Going by their characteristics and size they are a country’s most valuable future assets. More than any other groups in the society. Adolescents occupies an exciting but potentially dangerous position.

How has this position been managed, or betterstill how is this position managed? What are the steps and measures taken to render and promote essential services for the benefits of this population? What are the contributions of individuals, governmental agencies, non-governmental agencies, local and international agencies to ensure the needs of this population is adequately provided?
I accept the idea or the concept of forgetting about the government since its obviously not interested in the next generation but in the next election or the next political issue.
Apparently there are so many agencies and organizations at local and international levels aimed at promoting the development of the youths. So many seminars, symposium workshops,coferences and programmes are organized to achieve this aim. Indeed this is laudable.

However my query is how many youths/adolescents are beneficiaries? How much impact or positive changes have these offered? If there’s any to rely on are they adequate in comparison to the population of the youths? Why do a large size of youths/adolescents still make up hawkers on our roads and streets? Why are so many youths/adolescents still employed to carry out nefarious activities such as engaging themselves in armed robbery, prostitution, drug abuse and allowing themselves to be used as political thugs?

Travelling from Lagos (South West Geo-political zone of Nigeria) to Benin City (South South Geo political zone of Nigeria) is one hurdle I undertake weekly. At each tollgate it pricks my heart to see youths/adolescents, the future leaders in large numbers hawking their wares. The situation is so appalling. Records show that perpetrators of the recent tribal clash in Warri Delta State Nigeria were mainly youths.Cases of this nature are countless.

The reasons are not farfetched. Adolescents/Youth is a vulnerable age group. They encounter numerous psychological social and economic obstacles. These are often overlooked by the society and not adequately handled by the existing youth friendly organizations. This results in constituting handicap adolescents/youths and ultimately leads them into prostitution, armed robbery, and thuggery e.t.c. as a means to meet their needs.

Personally I have experienced so much difficulty and frustration in actualizing my dreams.Some I have decided to allow lie low and others I’m still struggling to make headway with, yet help seems far away. I know and strongly believe that many youths/adolescents are faced with similar predicament.

The end seems to be out of sight and someone says the talk is enough! We are in pains and we’ll continue to cry out and hope for help. We can only act when we are empowered. Can you stop a child who has been badly hurt from crying? No it’s not possible because it is natural to cry when you feel pains. However when you administer drugs that will help reduce and ultimately heal the pains there will be no need to cry.

This is a plea to all who is truly in service for the youths to provide adequate services efficiently and effectually not only a for a staggering population but also for the most valuable future assets of any society: THE YOUTHS/ADOLESCENTS

ESTHER OKHIADE