Medical devices for pregnancy and childbirth in the developing world

Improving maternal health is one of the eight Millenium Development Goals developed by the United Nations. One of the targets under this goal is to reduce the maternal mortality ratio by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015. Overall, maternal mortality ratios are highest in sub-Saharan Africa and in South Asia. Medical devices could potentially prevent maternal morbidity and mortality especially due to hemorrhage, hypertension, and direct causes of maternal mortality. The objective of this research was to identify medical devices that can be used to address maternal health during pregnancy and childbirth in resource-poor settings. We searched databases such as Pubmed, maternova and the Maternal and Neonatal Directed Assessment of Technology database. We also researched the literature though the Google search engine. We included all devices that were developed for use in developing countries. The majority of the devices we identified were designed to prevent, diagnose or treat hemorrhage (n = 11, 17 %), assist with pre-term or difficult labor (n = 8, 13 %), and ultrasound technologies (n = 7, 11 %). It was encouraging to find that devices to prevent or treat hemorrhage were the most common, as this is the most important cause of maternal mortality. However, in terms of absolute numbers, devices to diagnose or treat hypertension were the 4th most common, while this is the second most common cause of maternal mortality. Maternal mortality remains a significant global health problem, with most deaths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and in South Asia. Meeting the fifth Millennium Development Goal will require making significant investments in reducing maternal mortality in less than 5 years. This might involve innovations to develop technological solutions faster, commercialize the solutions and distribute them where they are most needed.