FAMILY HEALTH

Definitions Of
Family

According to Robert Francis

Winch, family is defined at
three levels:
nuclear
extended
general.

Nuclear family
a family consisting of a
married couples and their
children;
the children can be born or
adopted.

Extended family
a nuclear family plus
collateral kinship.
Ex. father, grand father,
mother collateral
indicates relationships
such as uncles, aunts,
nieces, nephews etc.

Joint family
a family consisting of
two or more married
couples
staying together with
children.

Family health is more than

the sum of the personal
health of Individuals.
Family should be
distinguished as:

A unit of health and

unit for care.
Family health is a part
and component of
community health.

We can consider health

as a quality of life that
is a function of at least
social, mental,
emotional, spiritual and
physical health.

Maternal Health Care

Motherhood should
be a time of
expectation and
joy for a woman,
her family, and
her community.

Worldwide, it is
estimated that 529,000
women die
yearly from complications
of pregnancy and
childbirth
about one woman every
minute.

Some 99 percent of these

deaths occur in developing
countries, where a
woman's lifetime risk of
dying from pregnancyrelated
complications is 45 times
higher than that of her
counterparts in developed
countries.

6080% of maternal deaths are

due to:
obstetric hemorrhage
obstructed labor
obstetric sepsis
hypertensive disorders of
pregnancy
complications of unsafe
abortion.

An Inter Agency Group

(IAG) for Safe
Motherhood, which
joined by UNICEF, UNDP,
IPPF, and the Population
Council have programs
to reduce maternal
mortality and morbidity

Programs to reduce maternal

mortality and morbidity, which
include:
Providing family planning
services.
Providing post abortion care.
Promoting antenatal care.
Ensuring skilled assistance
during childbirth
Improving essential obstetric
care

Essential Services for Safe

Motherhood

Safe motherhood can be

achieved by providing
high quality maternal
health services to all
women.

These
services for safe
motherhood should be
readily available to clinics
and hospitals
through all kind of
communication

Essential Services include

1. Community education on safe
motherhood
2. Prenatal care and counseling,
including the promotion of
maternal nutrition
3. Skilled assistance during
childbirth
4. Care for obstetric complications,
including emergencies

5. Postpartum care
6. Post-abortion care and,
where abortion is not against
the law, safe services for the
termination of pregnancy
7. Family planning counseling,
information and services
8.Reproductive health
education and services for
adolescents

Causes of Maternal
Mortality and
Morbidity

Medical Factors
Anaemia of pregnancy
Obstructed labour
Infections
Hypertension

Health delivery system

factors

Inadequate action taken

by health personnel
Lack of essential supply
and trained staff.
Lack of access to health
services
Low coverage of
immunization and
Inadequate health care
facility

Reproductive factors
Pregnancy in age under 19
and greater than 35 years
Four or more pregnancies
Practice of early marriage
High fertility
HIV/AIDS
Unwanted pregnancy e.g.
unsafe or induced abortion

Socio-economic factors
Poverty,
Malnutrition,
Low level of female education
Law status of women
Practices of early marriage
Poor environmental
sanitation and personal
hygiene,

Harmful traditional
practices
Practices of early marriage
Inappropriate timing of
pregnancy
Short pregnancy interval
(less than two years)
Female Genital Mutilation

Maternal health services

Components of maternal
health services
Preconception care
Prenatal care (Antenatal
care)
Delivery care
Care for the newborn
Postnatal care