Today marks international World Health Day, with this year’s theme being “Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures”.
World Health Day is part of a yearlong campaign, aimed at encouraging governments and the healthcare sector to focus on ending preventable maternal and newborn deaths.
Globally, close to 300,000 women lose their life due to pregnancy or childbirth each year, while over 2 million babies die in their first month of life.
According to the WHO, that’s roughly 1 preventable death every 7 seconds.
Speaking to KCLR News, Jo Scobie, a specialist midwife sonographer with Women’s Health Group in Kilkenny, emphasised the importance of accurate information for pregnant women.
“Midwives are experts when everything is normal, and we should have more midwives available to women here in Ireland, so as they can access them, and get information that’s researched, evidence-based, and they’re not going onto Google, and getting information that’s misinformation, and that’s causing them more anxiety than they deserve during a very important journey in their lives.”
