The World Health Organization (WHO) tells us that globally in 2020 close to 800 women died daily from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.

Unsurprisingly, we are told that almost 95 per cent of all maternal deaths occur in the poorest countries — referred to by the WHO as low- and lower-middle income.

The situation used to be much, much worse.

According to WHO, between 2000 and 2020, the maternal mortality ratio (that’s the number of maternal deaths per 100 000 live births) actually dropped by about 34 per cent worldwide.

In Jamaica’s case, the Population Health Status Report 2000–2022 reflected a more than doubling of the maternal mortality rate to over 200 per 100,000 live births annually, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.

Bad as that is, Jamaican women dying in childbirth — a source of extreme pain for all concerned, especially because it is often preventable — is relatively uncommon compared to the distant past.

Such occurrences become doubly painful when the victim is as young as 14-year-old Anna-Shay Campbell, who died during a complicated childbirth at Spanish Town Hospital recently.

A troubling aside for those unfamiliar with Jamaican laws is that the teenager was below the legal age of consent for sexual relations (16 years).

Media reports say the teenager’s mother is alleging that negligence led to her daughter’s death.

We expect that the findings of the investigation which the health authorities say could take six weeks will throw more light on the matter.

Beyond that, we note that Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton believes the requisite compassion wasn’t shown by health staff.

Dr Tufton told news reporters that: “In this case, based on my interaction with the mother, I believe that more should have been done, and could have been done, to provide her [14-year-old daughter] at least with a level of comfort while recognising the distress that she’s in…”

And further, that “generally speaking, across the health system, there are too many cases where the compassionate component…is not nearly what it ought to be…”

We know that low wages, poor working conditions, chronic material shortages, fatigue resulting from long hours, inadequate staffing leading to overwork, are among factors that can trigger lack of sympathy, empathy, and plain ‘don’t care’ attitudes among those working in health care and customer relations’ sectors generally.

Hence, the Ministry of Health’s Compassionate Care programme, first launched in 2018, which has sought to guide health personnel at all levels in appropriate behaviour when dealing with patients and the general public; as well as to physically upgrade facilities towards greater comfort and efficiency.

Dr Tufton told Parliament in November 2022 that “patient-centred care is the pinnacle of an effective health system and we intend to transition our service delivery model so that we do not [merely] treat the disease but the whole person… ”

That approach can’t be faulted.

It seems to us, though, that no matter the systems and programmes, compassion comes down to the individual. All of us, not just those in health care, education, customer relations, et al, have a responsibility to ourselves to show a kind, caring attitude one to another, for the greater good of
us all.