New Report Exposes Barriers to Treating Eclampsia, a Common and Major Killer of Pregnant Women Worldwide

(New York/London) – The first report to examine the barriers to treating eclampsia, one of the most common yet most treatable killers of pregnant women worldwide, will be released as a kick-off to the global Women Deliver conference in London on October 18-20. The landmark report, by the international health organization EngenderHealth, probes why this serious medical condition kills 14 times as many pregnant women in the developing world as it does in developed nations. The report is a collaboration with the University of Oxford, in consultation with representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and others.

Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, which strike more than 4 million women and kill 63,000 worldwide a year, will be among the key topics at the Women Deliver conference. The conference will address the health of women, mothers and newborns, and marks the 20th anniversary of the Safe Motherhood Initiative.

If untreated, pre-eclampsia—rapid elevation of blood pressure during pregnancy— can escalate to seizures (eclampsia), stroke, kidney and/or liver damage, and ultimately, death. Since magnesium sulfate (the same compound as Epsom salts) was approved by the WHO as the most effective treatment 20 years ago, its use has resulted in a dramatic decline in mortality in developed nations. But the treatment remains significantly underutilized in the developing world – the focus of the new report.

“When you’re dealing with a condition that rarely results in death in countries like the U.S. but persists as the number one killer of pregnant women in other countries including Mexico, then the problem is not the limit of modern medicine, but one of lack of access, clinicians’ training and political will,” said Dr. Ana Langer, president of EngenderHealth. “Giving birth should be a time of joy in a mother’s life, but for too many women and their families, it ends in needless tragedy.”

The report identified these key barriers to expanding the use of magnesium sulfate to reduce pre-eclampsia and eclampsia deaths:

• Lack of National Priority and Guidelines. In countries like Nigeria, Uganda and Pakistan, guidelines mandating magnesium sulfate use do not exist; elsewhere, copies of guidelines sit in health ministers’ offices instead of being distributed widely in the field. Only about half of the world’s countries include magnesium sulfate on their national list of “essential drugs.”
   
• Lack of Education and Training. Many clinicians remain unfamiliar with the safety and effectiveness of magnesium sulfate, and continue to rely on other, less effective and riskier, drugs. Education and training on the scientific validity and treatment protocols are needed.
   
• Supply Shortage. Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, relative to other health conditions, affect a smaller population. Furthermore, magnesium sulfate is a cheap drug so pharmaceutical companies have little incentive to make magnesium sulfate more widely available, limiting access to this life-saving drug.  

In conjunction with the report release, Engender Health, Oxford University and representatives from international health organizations will unveil an international “Call to Action” based on the conclusions and recommendations in the report. The appeal calls on policymakers and ministers of health to make pre-eclampsia and eclampsia a higher priority, and to set national guidelines for treatment and care based on WHO guidelines. It also urges decision-makers and international and national health organizations and agencies to help make magnesium sulfate more available and affordable, in part by empowering local clinicians with education and training.

"In this day and age, no woman should have to die from eclampsia," said Dr. Stephen Kennedy, head of Oxford University's Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, who co-hosted the workshop and will be a co-presenter at the Women Deliver conference. "If we work together as an international community, we can prevent this condition from having such a devastating effect, and make pregnancy safe for women wherever they live in the world."

EngenderHealth will be raising public awareness and working with both international and local organizations to provide training and otherwise incorporate magnesium sulfate treatment into safe motherhood programs, including assisting with the establishment of national protocols.

EngenderHealth is the leading international reproductive health organization improving quality of health care, ensuring rights, and empowering people in the world’s poorest communities. Working in partnership with governments, institutions, and health care professionals in more than 40 countries, EngenderHealth has reached more than 100 million people to help them realize a better life.

Press Contact: Erica Sackin, Fenton Communications
esackin@fenton.com, (212) 584-5000, ext. 335