Mar. 20, 2019

Every parent's greatest fear

Every parent's greatest fear

Too many babies still die in pregnancy or childbirth. The numbers are heartbreaking: approximately 10-15% of pregnancies end in miscarriage, generally before 28 weeks, and 2.6 million babies are stillborn every year.

There are different cultural attitudes to losing a baby, and women have access to different levels of quality antenatal care worldwide. Yet as varied as the experience of losing a baby may be around the world, stigma, shame and guilt emerge as common themes.

We gathered first-person stories from around the world. Women who lose their babies were made to feel that should stay silent about their grief, either because miscarriage and stillbirth are still so common, or because they are perceived to be unavoidable.
 

Committed to Ebola response

WHO Director-General visited an Ebola treatment centre in Butembo, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, that was attacked by armed groups recently. He spoke with personnel in the centre and thanked them for their dedication.

“It breaks my heart to think of the health workers injured and police officer who died in today’s attack, as we continue to mourn those who died in previous attacks, while defending the right to health,” said Dr Tedros. “But we have no choice except to continue serving the people here, who are among the most vulnerable in the world."

Read the statement