FOR years, efforts to reduce maternal deaths have focused heavily on postpartum haemorrhage — the severe bleeding that can occur after childbirth. New evidence suggests that this focus, while important, may have overlooked a more fundamental threat. A major international study involving more than 15,000 women, including over 11,000 from Pakistan, concludes that anaemia may be responsible for most maternal deaths worldwide and could underlie a large proportion of severe postpartum haemorrhage cases. The findings should resonate deeply in Pakistan, where anaemia among women is alarmingly widespread. According to local estimates cited by........

© Dawn