Maternal and Infant Health

Maternal health refers to the well-being of women during pregnancy and after the birth of the child. It also relates to maintaining the health of mothers in the postpartum period. Infant health is an area of study within medicine dealing with the well-being and prevention of diseases in infants. The significant aspect of this field is to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality. Several other health care dimensions such as family planning, preconception, and prenatal and postnatal care are also covered under the domain of maternal and child health. The several factors affecting maternal health include poverty and access to healthcare, pre-existing conditions such as HIV/AIDS and maternal weight. The leading cause of death among women of reproductive age is considered to be complications of pregnancy and childbirth. Maternal bleeding, postpartum infections including maternal sepsis, hypertensive diseases of pregnancy, obstructed labor, and pregnancy with abortive outcome including miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy are some causes that can be attributed to maternal mortality. This book brings forth some of the most innovative concepts and elucidates the unexplored aspects of maternal and infant health. It will help the readers in keeping pace with the rapid developments in this field of study.