Reproductive and Maternal Health

Early pregnancies among adolescents have major health consequences for adolescent mothers and their babies. Adolescent mothers aged 10–19 years face higher risks of eclampsia, puerperal endometritis and systemic infections than women aged 20–24 years.

Early childbearing can increase risks for newborns as well as young mothers. Babies born to mothers under 20 years of age face higher risks of low birth weight, preterm delivery and severe neonatal conditions. In some settings, rapid repeat pregnancy is a concern for young mothers, as it presents further health risks for both the mother and the child.

Nearly 800 women die every day from preventable maternal causes, and in 2022 alone, an estimated 2.3 million newborns died. For every maternal death, countless more women endure life-altering injuries, infections, and disabilities related to childbirth.

Maternal deaths are concentrated in the poorest regions and conflict-affected areas. In 2020, sub-Saharan Africa accounted for nearly 70% of all maternal deaths, with just 22 countries responsible for 81% of the global total. Humanitarian crises and fragile health systems exacerbate these challenges, with maternal mortality rates in crisis-affected areas often double the global average. The barriers to progress are multifaceted, including inadequate funding, poor-quality healthcare, harmful gender and social norms, and critical gaps in data and accountability.

Cervical cancer, caused by persistent infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV), is the fourth most common cancer in women globally with around 660,000 new cases and around 350,000 deaths in 2022. More than 85 percent of cervical cancer cases and deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, reflecting major inequities driven by lack of access to effective strategies to prevent cervical cancer such us national HPV vaccination, cervical screening and treatment of pre-cancer lesions.

The global under-five mortality rate has declined by 60% since 1990 (from 93 to 37 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022). However, significant disparities persist, particularly in sub–Saharan Africa and Southern Asia that account for over 80 percent of these deaths. In 2022, some 4.9 million children under 5 years of age died. Of these, 2.3 million deaths occurred during the neonatal period (the first month of life). Leading causes include infectious diseases and neonatal complications highlighting the need for enhanced healthcare access, vaccinations and nutrition. Without accelerated efforts many countries will miss SDGs targets.

Maternal health refers to the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period.

Each stage should be a positive experience, ensuring women and their babies reach their full potential for health and well-being.

Although important progress has been made in the last two decades, about 287 000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth in 2020. This number is unacceptably high.

The most common direct causes of maternal injury and death are excessive blood loss, infection, high blood pressure, unsafe abortion, and obstructed labour, as well as indirect causes such as anemia, malaria, and heart disease.

Most maternal deaths are preventable with timely management by a skilled health professional working in a supportive environment.

Ending preventable maternal death must remain at the top of the global agenda. At the same time, simply surviving pregnancy and childbirth can never be the marker of successful maternal health care. It is critical to expand efforts reducing maternal injury and disability to promote health and well-being.

Every pregnancy and birth is unique. Addressing inequalities that affect health outcomes, especially sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender, is fundamental to ensuring all women have access to respectful and high-quality maternity care.

Healthy Eating & Physical Activity for Life

Consuming a healthy diet throughout the life-course helps to prevent malnutrition in all its forms as well as a range of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and conditions.

However, change in food production and food systems, rapid urbanization and changing lifestyles have led to a shift in dietary patterns. People are now consuming more highly processed foods high in unhealthy fats, free sugars and salt/sodium, and many people do not eat enough fruit and vegetables or consume sufficient dietary fibre.

The exact make-up of a diversified, balanced and healthy diet will vary depending on individual characteristics (e.g. age, gender, lifestyle and degree of physical activity), cultural context, locally-available foods and dietary customs.

However, the basic principles of what constitutes a healthy diet remain the same and are described in four principles:

• adequacy: meets, without exceeding, micronutrient and macronutrient needs such that deficiencies are prevented;
• balance: total energy intake is balanced with energy expenditure, with an adequate balance across the three primary sources of energy, protein, fats and carbohydrates;
• moderation: limited intake of nutrients, ingredients, and foods that may be detrimental to health;
• diversity: inclusion of a wide variety of nutritious foods within and across food groups

Eating a variety of healthy food is important if you are physically active. You probably don’t need extra food or drinks to refuel when you are doing mild to moderate amounts of physical activity. Instead, listen to your hunger cues to help determine when and how much to eat.

If food or drinks are offered regularly at sports games or practices, encourage the coach and parents to:

• serve healthy options
• consider if extra food and drinks are needed in the first place

If you are an athlete regularly participating in intense physical activity, talk to a dietitian for nutrition recommendations that are right for you.

Water is the drink of choice for regular exercise. Drink water before, during and after physical activity to stay hydrated and replace lost fluid.

Sports drinks are usually sugary drinks. They are not a healthy drink choice to stay hydrated.

Some sports drinks use sugar substitutes instead of sugar. Sugar substitutes aren’t needed for healthy eating. Choose unsweetened drinks like water to stay hydrated instead.

If you are not physically active, work your way up to 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity physical activity. This could be dancing or doing yard work. You could meet the goal of 150 minutes a week with 30 minutes a day for 5 days a week, 22 minutes daily, or what works for you.

People vary greatly in how much physical activity they need for weight management. You may need to be more active than others to reach or maintain a healthy weight.

Consuming healthy foods and beverages, along with getting regular physical exercise, may help you reach and maintain a weight that suits you. Maintaining that weight, getting adequate sleep, and managing stress may also help prevent some health problems.

Start taking steps now to move more and eat better—for yourself and your loved ones!