Search

Losing a parent due to premature death is generally associated with negative child outcomes. However, the study of possible (modifying) effects of the child's age and family background has been neglected in previous research. In this paper, we analyse the relationship between the child's age at parental death and the child's university education, and we study whether the possible association is modified by the child's family background. We apply ordinary least square regression and linear sibling fixed effect models to high-quality Finnish Census Panel data, consisting of 88,727 children born between 1982 and 1990. According to our results, the negative influence of parental death varies by the child's age; the consequences of parental death for young children were the most adverse. Interestingly, the influence of parental death seemed not to vary by family background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides new estimates of the impact of the time to death on health care expenditures when the time to death is assumed endogenous. It further proposes estimation methods that take into account the right censoring of time to death. The data consist of twins from Denmark aged over 70 in 1999. The age of death of the mother and the living status of the co-twin are used as instruments for time to death. The results show that IV estimators give estimates higher than those obtained in previous studies when the time to death is assumed exogenous. Furthermore, the estimators proposed in this paper provide estimates that are generally lower compared to the ones obtained with the IV estimator. These results indicate that the impact of time to death has been potentially overestimated in previous studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historians call sectio in mortua the act of opening the abdomen of a woman who has died during pregnancy or in childbirth in order to extract a baby. According to recent studies, the sectio is considered to be a routine practice carried out by male surgeons from the end of the Middle Ages, particularly in Italy, where the evidence of the sectio being performed by a midwife is scanty. But was it really such a popular operation at the time, and can the figure of the midwife be seen as secondary? It is also known that the operation was qualified through aspects which went beyond the surgical sphere, such as religion, myth, and especially law. How did these fields interact? This article highlights the complexity of sectio through the interpretation of different sources spanning from the late Middle Ages to the Early Modern period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experience of being a children and his mother who died of cancer.

This article analyses representative life stories that reflect the experiences of people who participated in the Namibian liberation struggle, as well as one narrative that reflects the traumatic effect of the brutal murder of her mother witnessed by a five year old girl. The stories detail the vicious nature of settler colonialism in South West Africa and the motive that drove youths to abscond from school to join SWAPO camps in neighbouring countries. Two of the male authored texts focus on the political dimensions of the struggle, with minimal personal details; the two accounts penned by women who obtained secondary and tertiary education in exile and underwent military training foreground the personal dimension that is understated in the male accounts. The human side of war, suffering and discrimination is captured in all the accounts, in differing degrees. The strong Christian beliefs of the selected authors are a striking feature in most of the life stories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To clarify the necessity for and problems related to autopsy for determining the cause of maternal death in Japan.Methods: Women who died during pregnancy or within a year after delivery were analyzed by the Maternal Death Exploratory Committee between 2012 and 2015 in Japan. Maternal deaths were analyzed to verify the requirement of autopsy in cases in which autopsy was performed and the need for autopsy in cases in which it was not performed.Results: Among the 49 cases performed autopsy, the final diagnosis was compatible with the clinical course in 24 cases, while the autopsy diagnosis was incompatible with the clinical course in 13 cases. In two cases, the final diagnosis was based on the clinical course, but an autopsy could exclude other possible causes. In three cases, no exact cause of maternal death was identified after autopsy. On the other hand, in cases without an autopsy, the final diagnosis was made using ante-mortem operating findings and surgical specimens in twenty-one cases. Though, thirty-one cases were estimated diagnosis based on post-mortem imaging or ante-mortem examinations, the exact original cause of death was not determined in 25 cases, and the cause of death could not be identified in eight cases without autopsy.Conclusion: Because in most cases the autopsy provides an exact cause of death, the necessity of autopsies should be more widely accepted in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the reliability of maternal deaths surveillance system (MDSS) and to determine the factors that influence its completeness in one region of Morocco. Methods: We conducted a retrospective survey in “Gharb Chrarda Bni Hssen” region (GCBH) between January the 1st, 2013 and September the 30th, 2014 using multiple sources approach. All deaths of women of reproductive age (WRA) were investigated using certificates with medical cause, medical records and interviews with household members and relatives to ascertain a pregnancy-related or maternal death. An External Expert Committee reviewed the information collected to assign a cause for each death. Our results were compared to those reported in the same period by the MDSS. Findings: Our study identified 690 deaths of WRA and 69 maternal deaths of which 34.8% occurred outside health facilities. The MDSS recorded during the study period 538 deaths of WRA and 29 maternal deaths (including only one outside health facility) representing respectively an underreporting of 22.0% and 58.0%. Late maternal deaths represented 11.4% of all deaths of women with a registered pregnancy within 12 months prior to the death, while the MDSS identified none. The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) was estimated at 103, approximately 2.5 times higher than that reported in the MDSS. Conclusion: Our study has shown weaknesses in the current notification system for maternal deaths in the region of GCBH. Therefore, more attention must be given to the regional committees in charge of auditing the cases and defining actions to be implemented to prevent further maternal deaths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Maternal sepsis remains one of the leading causes of direct and indirect maternal mortality both in high- and low-income environments. In the last two decades, systems biology approaches, based on '-omics' technologies, have started revolutionizing the diagnosis and management of the septic syndrome. The scope of this narrative review is to present an overview of the basic '-omics' technologies, exemplified by cases relevant to maternal sepsis.Methods: Narrative review of the new '-omics' technologies based on a detailed review of the literature.Results: After presenting the main 'omics' technologies, we discuss their limitations and the need for integrated approaches that encompass research efforts across multiple '-omics' layers in the '-omics' cascade between the genome and the phenome.Conclusions: Systems biology approaches are revolutionizing the research landscape in maternal sepsis. There is a need for increased awareness, from the side of health practitioners, as a requirement for the effective implementation of the new technologies in the research and clinical practice in maternal sepsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The death of a mother is a tragedy in itself but it can also have devastating effects for the survival of her children. We aim to explore the impact of a mother’s death on child survival in rural Gambia, West Africa. Methods: We used 25 years of prospective surveillance data from the Farafenni Health and Demographic surveillance system (FHDSS). Mortality rates per 1,000 child-years up to ten years of age were estimated and Kaplan-Meier survival curves plotted by maternal vital status. Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine factors associated with child survival. Findings: Between 1st April 1989 and 31st December 2014, a total of 2, 221 (7.8%) deaths occurred during 152,906 child-years of follow up. Overall mortality rate was 14.53 per 1,000 child-years (95% CI: 13.93–15.14). Amongst those whose mother died, the rate was 25.89 (95% CI: 17.99–37.25) compared to 14.44 (95% CI: 13.84–15.06) per 1,000 child-years for those whose mother did not die. Children were 4.66 (95% CI: 3.15–6.89) times more likely to die if their mother died compared to those with a surviving mother. Infants whose mothers died during delivery or shortly after were up to 7 times more likely to die within the first month of life compared to those whose mothers survived. Maternal vital status was significantly associated with the risk of dying within the first 2 years of life (p-value <0.05), while this was no longer observed for children over 2 years of age (P = 0.872). Other factors associated with an increased risk of dying were living in more rural areas, and birth spacing and year of birth. Conclusions: Mother’s survival is strongly associated with child survival. Our findings highlight the importance of the continuum of care for both the mother and child not only throughout pregnancy, and childbirth but beyond 6 weeks post-partum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article talks about the people she lost due to cancer, and mentions how the death of her loving ones due to cancer makes her angry. Topics discussed include the author losing her friend and philosopher Sue Campbell to breast cancer also also her mother, the "Our Faithfulness to the Past" written by Campbell from the days she was surviving cancer, and the research paper "Playfulness, ‘World'-Travelling, and Loving Perception," by Maria Lugones.

Background: Social autopsy is an innovative approach to explore social barriers and factors associated to a death in the community. The process also sensitize the community people to avert future deaths. Social autopsy has been introduced in maternal deaths in Bangladesh first time in 2010. This study is to identify the social factors in the rural community associated to maternal deaths. It also looks at how the community responses in social autopsy intervention to prevent future maternal deaths. Methods: The study was conducted in the Thakurgaon district of Bangladesh in 2010. We have purposively selected 28 social autopsy cases of which maternal deaths occurred due to either haemorrhage or due to convulsions. The autopsy was conducted by the Government health and family planning first line field supervisors in rural community. Family members and neighbours of the deceased participated in each autopsy and provided their comments and responses. Results: A number of social factors including delivery conducted by the untrained birth attendant or family members, delays in understanding about maternal complications, delays in decision making to transfer the mother, lack of proper knowledge, education and traditional myth influences the maternal deaths. The community identified their own problems, shared within them and decide upon rectify themselves for future death prevention. Conclusions: Social autopsy is a useful tools to identify social community within the community by discussing the factors that took place during a maternal death. The process supports villagers to think and change their behavioural patterns and commit towards preventing such deaths in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In developing countries, men are sometimes stereotypically perceived as uninterested in maternal health, but their reproductive health roles have been widely recognized. Some studies have suggested that effective communication with men on safe motherhood can yield behavior changes capable of reducing maternal deaths. Aim: This study's objective was to study the impact of an educational session on the knowledge and attitudes of married men regarding maternal deaths. Design: Men were interviewed before the intervention and then participated in a joint educational session on safe motherhood. Follow-up interviews took place three months after the intervention. Results: 141 randomly selected men enrolled in the study; 122 completed both interviews. After the session, men were more likely to recognize a danger sign of pregnancy and delivery, but there was no increase in their willingness to participate in making the local hospital better for maternal healthcare. Mean composite scores increased significantly. Conclusions: Married men have moderate knowledge about maternal deaths and are potentially educable regarding their prevention. Further controlled intervention programs and studies are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Mexico, the measurement of maternal death has demonstrated the extent to which the risk to women's lives is determined by their class, location, and ethnicity. In this paper, I examine how the Mexican federal government has implemented measurement and monitoring regimes to track and respond to maternal deaths. Drawing on field research and interviews conducted at various times between 2004 and 2010, I consider some of the contradictory knowledge and governance effects that this turn to measurement has generated in the Mexican health-care system. Measurement and monitoring regimes, I argue, have given maternal health advocates the evidence to argue that it is failings within the health-care system which have made high levels of mortality so intractable. At the same time, measuring mortality has rendered broader aspects of sexual and reproductive rights less visible, while also generating a politics of responsibility and culpability. I trace in this paper a tendency by some health-care professionals to resist what they see as the punitive nature of maternal health monitoring regimes, by either 'gaming' the numbers, and/or shifting responsibility other, usually more vulnerable, populations. This analysis highlights the importance of attending to the context in which measurement regimes are introduced. In the context of a deeply flawed system, measurement regimes will generate tensions around responsibility which cannot easily be resolved, and may be resisted by those on whom the regime depends for its reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The present study aimed to explore the inter-relationships among maternal death, household economic status after the event, and potential influencing factors. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study of households that had experienced maternal death (n = 195) and those that experienced childbirth without maternal death (n = 384) in rural China. All the households were interviewed after the event occurred and were followed up 12 months later. Structural equation modeling was used to test the relationship model, utilizing income and expenditure per capita in the following year after the event as the main outcome variables, maternal death as the predictor, and direct costs, the amount of money offset by positive and negative coping strategies, whether the husband remarried, and whether the newborn was alive as the mediators. Results: In the following year after the event, the path analysis revealed a direct effect from maternal death to lower income per capita (standardized coefficient = -0.43, p = 0.041) and to lower expenditure per capita (standardized coefficient = -0.51, p<0.001). A significant indirect effect was found from maternal death to lower income and expenditure per capita mediated by the influencing factors of higher direct costs, less money from positive coping methods, more money from negative coping, and the survival of the newborn. Conclusion: This study analyzed the direct and indirect effects of maternal death on a household economy. The results provided evidence for better understanding the mechanism of how this event affects a household economy and provided a reference for social welfare policies to target the most vulnerable households that have suffered from maternal deaths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article takes as its starting point the paradoxical representation of mothers in popular culture. On the one hand the mother is constructed as central to the physical and emotional development of the child; on the other, she is routinely rejected or elided, questioned, and vilified. One expression of this ambivalent attitude is the re-circulation of the trope of the dead mother. The trope, which ostensibly is employed to create sympathy for a character, or simply to drive the plot, often also privileges fathers, suggesting that children are better off without mothers. After a brief genre overview of the use of the trope of the dead mother on film and television, the article analyses how the BBC serial Single Father, with its repeated depictions of the mother's violent death, develops the trope, by not only privileging the father and vilifying the dead mother, but also reducing her death to a plot point, a backdrop for romance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is a major cause of maternal mortality, accounting for one quarter of all maternal deaths worldwide. Estimates of its incidence in the literature vary widely, from 3 % to 15 % of deliveries. Uterotonics after birth are the only intervention that has been shown to be effective in preventing PPH. Tranexamic acid (TXA), an antifibrinolytic agent, has been investigated as a potentially useful complement to uterotonics for prevention because it has been proved to reduce blood loss in elective surgery, bleeding in trauma patients, and menstrual blood loss. Randomized controlled trials for PPH prevention after cesarean (n = 10) and vaginal (n = 2) deliveries show that women who received TXA had significantly less postpartum blood loss without any increase in their rate of severe adverse effects. However, the quality of these trials was poor and they were not designed to test the effect of TXA on the reduction of PPH incidence. Large, adequately powered, multicenter randomized controlled trials are required before the widespread use of TXA to prevent PPH can be recommended. Methods and design: A multicenter, double-blind, randomized controlled trial will be performed. It will involve 4000 women in labor for a planned vaginal singleton delivery, at a term≥ 35 weeks. Treatment (either TXA 1 g or placebo) will be administered intravenously just after birth. Prophylactic oxytocin will be administered to all women. The primary outcome will be the incidence of PPH, defined by blood loss ≥500 mL, measured with a graduated collector bag. This study will have 80 % power to show a 30 % reduction in the incidence of PPH, from 10.0 % to 7.0 %. Discussion: In addition to prophylactic uterotonic administration, a complementary component of the management of third stage of labor acting on the coagulation process may be useful in preventing PPH. TXA is a promising candidate drug, inexpensive, easy to administer, and simple to add to the routine management of deliveries in hospitals. This large, adequately powered, multicenter, randomized placebo-controlled trial seeks to determine if the risk-benefit ratio favors the routine use of TXA after delivery to prevent PPH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses the first reports coming from the Mothers and Babies- Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the United Kingdom (MBRACE-UK). Topics covered include the confused period during the demise of the programme running the Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths (CEMD), the new reporting styles such as the gap between a death and the report, and the causes of the deaths. Also discussed is the importance of the hospital location of the sick mother.

A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experience of knowing about his mother's death and her cremation.

The author presents a personal narrative about her family experiences, which include her mother's funeral, her wedding day, and conversations with her aunts and uncles.

The main purpose of this paper was to identify causes of maternal deaths in all districts and referral hospitals, and to assess risk factors and determine underlying contributory factors to maternal deaths in Namibia. The study proposed strategies for midwifery practice in order to prevent maternal deaths. A retrospective audit of maternal records was conducted with detailed analysis of the 154 maternal deaths recorded during the period 2008-2012. Of the 154 maternal deaths reviewed, 58.4% were from direct maternal deaths and 41.6% were from indirect maternal deaths. Hemorrhage (37.8%), eclampsia (24.4%) and puerperal sepsis (23.3%) were the leading causes for direct maternal deaths. About 65% of the hemorrhage cases; 64% of the eclampsia cases and 53% of the puerperal sepsis occurred to women who lived in rural areas. The predominant recognizable indirect causes were HIV (45.3%); pneumonia (23.4%) and Tuberculosis (17.2%). Women who live in rural areas were more likely to experience a maternal death due to pneumonia (60%) as compared to those in urban areas. Most women who died due to HIV were aged between 30-39 years (75.9%) while maternal deaths due to eclampsia were most common among the younger women (15-29 years). Maternal deaths are less likely to occur to women living together with their partner than those who are not living together (OR = 0.53). This descriptive study identified a range of socio demographic, clinical and health system factors as possible contributors to maternal deaths in Namibia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Group A streptococcal (GAS) meningitis is rarely seen in the antenatal period, but it is associated with significant mortality. We present a case of a mid-trimester woman who developed fulminant meningitis following a rapid onset atypical presentation of infection with this organism. Case. A multiparous 23+5-week woman presented with a 10-day history of a non-productive cough associated with pyrexia. Within minutes of her admission she collapsed and lost consciousness; sepsis was suspected and cross-specialty care was initiated. She was managed empirically in extremis with broad-spectrum antibiotics and mannitol with 3% hypertonic saline for suspected infection and raised intracranial pressure, respectively. Despite intensivist management, a CT head revealed diffuse oedema with coning of the cerebellar tonsils. Brainstem death was certified within 19 hours of admission and fetal death ensued. Postmortem bacteriology confirmed GAS meningitis. Conclusion. Through raising awareness of this patient and her disease course, we hope that future policy decisions, primary care, and hospital level management will be informed accordingly for treatment of pregnant women with suspected GAS infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Aquichan is the property of Universidad de la Sabana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)