Seventeen Percent of Iranian Maternal Deaths Due to Lack of Access to Gynecologists

The head of the Medical System Organization of the Islamic Republic has reported that "17 percent" of Iranian maternal deaths are due to "lack of access to gynecologists." According to Iranian media, Mohammad Raeis-zadeh, the head of the Medical System Organization, cited "studies conducted in the country" and stated that the average age of deceased mothers is "30 to 35 years" and they are mostly in their first childbirth, with "45 percent" of these deaths attributed to "insufficient expertise of the medical staff." This senior health official further added that in "17 percent" of cases of pregnant women's deaths, "lack of access to gynecologists" has resulted in maternal mortality. In recent years, alongside rising costs associated with pregnancy and childbirth, there have also been reports of some pregnant women being denied admission to medical facilities or high mortality rates in hospitals. Among these cases were the deaths of two pregnant women aged 34 and 35 in August at the "Imam Sajjad" Hospital in Yasuj, located in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province. Although Mahmoud Shahamat, the deputy of treatment at Yasuj University of Medical Sciences, claimed in response that "95 percent of maternal deaths" in this province have "pre-hospital causes." Reducing mortality rates among "pregnant mothers" and "newborns" is considered one of the important indicators in assessing the health level and development of various societies. Iranian pregnant women face numerous challenges, including the Islamic Republic's restrictions on prenatal screenings and the illegality of abortion. In this context, Laleh Mehrad, a clinical psychologist, told the Persian section of "Voice of America" that unsafe abortion jeopardizes the mental and physical health of women. On the other hand, the issue of increasing emigration of Iranian doctors and nurses in recent months, alongside a shortage of medical staff in areas such as women's childbirth, has once again made headlines. In this regard, several doctors have spoken to "Voice of America" about the "difficult conditions" of working in Iran, with one noting that "emigration is hard, but staying in Iran and practicing medicine under these conditions is a hundred times harder."