It is equally important to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and cope with unwanted pregnancy, infections, and infertility. We must also consider adolescent sexuality, infant survival and maternity without risk. He promised that things would change soon, but refused to disclose the details. Earlier this summer, Health Minister Marino Costa Bauer admitted to the press in Lima that maternal mortality in Peru is excessively high. But a series of subsequent health announcements focused on denying that the state promotes any particular type of contraceptive or has any official sterilization targets.
Mothers here refer to giving birth as death's waiting room.
The Maria Auxiliadora Hospital serves one of the southern slums, where an estimated two million citizens live in settlements tacked together from the city's refuse. The hospital's incubators haven't worked in months. Premature births need to be sent to a maternity ward several hours away. There is no surgical equipment necessary to perform an emergency cesarean section. Doctors simply refuse to operate, according to an obstetrician who did not want to be identified.