Many women who have gone through labor say giving birth is like running a marathon. Running a marathon is a difficult task for even the healthiest people – so just imagine the difficulty of running 26 miles while hungry and severely anemic.  When women start labor malnourished and anemic, the task at hand is far riskier for both the mother and child.

Hookworm – one of the seven most common neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) – infects 40 million women of child-bearing age in the developing world. This infection literally sucks the blood out of mothers. Consider this: if a healthy mother with normal blood levels loses two pints of blood during labor, chances are she’ll be fine. But if a woman starts off pregnancy with a low baseline blood level due to hookworm, even the best medical service in the world will have a tough time keeping her alive if she loses those same two pints of blood.

As if that wasn’t enough, mothers with NTDs such as hookdworm can have newborns with complications – including low birth weight.

In a recently-published article, Global Network’s Amber Cashwell and Wangechi Thuo further emphasized these risks:

“It is vital to recognize that pregnant mothers are at much higher risk of being negatively impacted by a disease or other health condition. Additionally, because the health of a mother and her baby are closely entwined, any adverse impact on the mother will affect the vulnerable newborn.”

In order to stress the importance of NTD treatment and maternal and child health, the Global Network’s Dr. Neeraj Mistry addressed these issues at the International Maternal and Child Health Conference convened by the African Union.  Dr. Mistry stressed the importance of including NTD treatment as an integral part of a comprehensive maternal and child health strategy. Throughout the conference, NTD treatment was acknowledged as an issue that touched on many intersectoral approaches to maternal and child health – including water and sanitation.

At the conclusion of the conference, the Global Network was happy to see NTDs included in the final Communique of the 1st Africa Ministerial Multisectoral MNCH Consultations at International Conference on MNCH in Africa.

The inclusion of NTD treatment within this document is an important first step for ensuring the health of mothers and their children worldwide.