Maternal health in Jamaica : health needs, services, and utilization

Abstract

The main health issues for Jamaican women are nutrition, fertility, infection, chronic diseases, and stress and social problems. The two leading causes of adult health for women are cerebro-vascular accidents and coronary heart disease - of which high blood pressure is a major component among black women. The main factors causing stress for Jamaican women include unemployment, economic inadequacy, separation of partners, male promiscuity, limited availability of schooling for children, and violence. The Jamaican health care system needs more family planning services for those who want them; good community-based prenatal education and screening and hospital delivery for high-risk pregnancies, better community education and better transportation so that women and midwifes can visit more often. There is also a great need for health education to overcome broad misperceptions, which may block demand for family planning services.Reproductive Health,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Adolescent Health,Early Child and Children's Health,Gender and Health