High maternal mortality rate in PNG a concern
Updated
A senior doctor in Papua New Guinea says the number of women dying during childbirth has more than doubled in a decade.
The president of the Medical Society of PNG, Mathias Sapuri, says many women die from complications in labour, or from infections giving birth in unhygienic environments.
He says the problem's made worse by a lack of transport to and from provincial hospitals.
Dr Sapuri has told Radio Australia's Pacific Beat program that despite advances in maternity care in PNG cities, more women in rural areas have complications with pregnancy.
"And that's the reason why you see that the figures that are mentioned the main major causes of maternal mortality, is because of the fact that we are not moving them fast enough, to prevent them to get into the maternal mortality statistics," he said.
