Maluku Has the Lowest Rate of Assisted Deliveries by Healthcare Professionals

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded that Maluku had the lowest percentage of births assisted by healthcare professionals in Indonesia in 2019, at 68.34%. Maluku was followed by Papua (69.41%), North Maluku (81.34%), West Papua (82.5%), and East Nusa Tenggara (83.19%). These five provinces were below the national average of 94.17%.

According to the Ministry of Health, the low percentage of births assisted by healthcare professionals is one of the biggest causes of maternal mortality in Maluku due to hemorrhage and infection. Assistance from healthcare professionals during childbirth will expedite treatment in cases of hemorrhage or infection, thus reducing the risk of maternal death.

(Read More: 3 out of 1,000 Indonesian Mothers Die During Childbirth)

To improve childbirth assistance by healthcare professionals in remote areas, the government launched the Maternity Guarantee Program (Jampersal) in 2011. This program prioritized increasing the coverage of antenatal care, childbirth assistance, and postpartum care by healthcare professionals. The program also aimed to increase the coverage of newborn care by healthcare professionals and the management of complications in pregnant women, childbirth, postpartum, and newborns.

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