DiscoverSistas, Let's TalkToo many Pacific women die in childbirth. How can they be saved?
Too many Pacific women die in childbirth. How can they be saved?

Too many Pacific women die in childbirth. How can they be saved?

Update: 2025-12-10
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The rate of women who die during childbirth is alarmingly high in parts of the Pacific.  

According to World Population Review, the rate of maternal mortality in Papua New Guinea is 192 deaths in every 100,000 live births.  

That’s compared with a country like Australia, which is just three in every 100,000 births. 

The reasons for these deaths vary from geographic barriers and lack of medical services to cultural barriers.  

However, measures are being taken to address this limitation and help save the lives of women in the Pacific. 

Sistas Let’s Talk host Natasha Meten speaks to Marshall Islands health secretary Francyne Wase-Jacklick, Stevie Merino-Mesa from the Birthworkers of Colour Collective and midwife Cherolyn Polomon who started a Whatsapp group for hundreds of Papua New Guinea’s health workers to collaborate about maternal health.  

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Too many Pacific women die in childbirth. How can they be saved?

Too many Pacific women die in childbirth. How can they be saved?

Australian Broadcasting Corporation