Global Maternal and Child Health

Abstract

The Institute of Medicine defined global health as “health problems issues and concerns that transcend national boundaries and may be best addressed by cooperative actions (1).” Global health issues are thus common to both developing and industrialized countries. In recent decades populations in developing countries have been undergoing an epidemiologic transition in which dominant disease and mortality patterns shift from primarily infectious diseases to chronic diseases which are a rising cause of morbidity and mortality; these cumulative health threats lead to increasing burdens on health systems. Reproductive health adolescent health and mental health are recognized as priority in both developing and industrialized countries. Several papers of this issue of the Journal illustrate this focus. McCarraher et al. showed that the majority of births were unpredicted in two Bolivian communities and that women frequently experienced violence during pregnancy. Khosnood et al. showed that delayed childbirth is a risk factor for Mexican Americans as it is for other ethnic groups in the United States. Ohene et al. showed that health-compromising behaviors cluster among Caribbean youth as they do in the United States. Baker et al. showed that postpartum depression is very frequent in a predominantly Native American population in North Carolina. Their study is the first of its kind an important reminder of the lack of data about many underrepresented minorities in the United States and in the world. (excerpt)