UN Agency Rushes Aid to Pregnant Women in Cyclone-Hit Parts of Bangladesh
New York, Dec 4 2007 3:00PM
With some 30,000 babies expected to be born in the coming months in cyclone-hit parts of Bangladesh, the United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) today announced plans to help pregnant women there avoid life-threatening delivery complications.
Out of the 6.7 million people affected by the storm which hit in mid-November, 30,000 women are carrying third-trimester
pregnancies, the agency said in a news release, warning that almost 4,500 of them “are likely to experience potentially
life-threatening complications.”
In response, UNFPA is sending reproductive health kits equipped with intravenous fluids and drip sets, antibiotics, pain
killers, syringes, sterile gloves and a small sterilizing machine, all to help prevent maternal deaths and disabilities.
The agency is also providing other safe motherhood services to women who come to designated facilities for delivery.
ENDS