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The right to safe motherhood is still not effectively guaranteed for many women around the world. Deaths due to pregnancy, childbirth and complications in the postpartum period affect thousands of women every year and this is a serious public health problem, mainly because most of these deaths is completely avoidable.
Maternal mortality is a complex issue that deserves a broader discussion with the whole of society. It is necessary for the whole of society to understand that reducing maternal mortality is not restricted to a question of the quality of health services or the development of a country; but, above all, it is related to the rights of citizens and, above all, should be seen as a question of human rights. Making motherhood safer is a human rights imperative!
May 28th is the International Day of Action for Women's Health and the National Day to Combat Maternal Mortality. Throughout the month of May, the Anita Garibaldi Center for Health Education and Research promotes awareness-raising actions on safe motherhood aimed at service users, the general population, students and health professionals in the region.
Daily, through video sessions, discussion groups and recreational activities, the idea is to show that the risks to reproductive health faced by women are not mere misfortunes or inevitable disadvantages, inherent to pregnancy, but injustices that societies have a duty to resolve through their political, health and legal systems. That is, the high rates of maternal mortality, which have already been proven to be preventable through effective health interventions, must be highlighted as the result of social injustices that women suffer due to their social status and that represent a flagrant violation of their human rights.
The recharacterization of preventable maternal mortality from a health disadvantage to a social injustice should impose on governments the moral obligation to remedy this injustice, given the clear disregard for values and norms reflected in constitutional laws and international human rights treaties.
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