Herman Genie, Jakarta – The government has blamed pregnancy at a young age as the main contributor to Indonesia's high maternal mortality rate, saying that many young women are not ready to go into labor.
Deputy Health Minister Ali Ghufron Mukti attributed the deaths of 45 percent of mothers during childbirth to the fact that they went into labor before they had reached the age of 19 years.
"This is a matter of maturity, the slowness in making a decision related to labor. Since they are still young, they are still unable to make a decision and are still relying on their parents or parents-in-law [to make a decision], and they lack preparations," Ali said in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Data from the Indonesian Demography and Health Survey showed that the maternal mortality rate surged drastically in 2013 to 359 per 100,000 births from 228 per 100,000 births in 2012. Aside from marriage at a young age, the high maternal mortality rate is also blamed on poor services at health facilities around the country.
"There have been cases when no blood was available when it was needed Sometimes the doctors weren't available. Even when there was a doctor, the procedure gets delayed because of administration matters. At a young age, they usually don't know what to do," Ali said.
All relevant parties need to respond and take such lack of readiness seriously, he said, adding that parents should not allow their children to marry at a very young age. "[They] need to consider the maturity of the children," he said.
Khofifah Indar Parawansa, a former minister for women's empowerment and child protection, called on the government to revive the PLKB, a movement to build public awareness about family planning. Khofifah said the problem now was that there were not enough people who had the ability to become counselors.
"The counseling process has to be carried out. If an employee chooses pills or injection for her family planning, the continuity would likely be disrupted because of her busy schedule. If they choose IUDs, they would certainly need counseling, so that's why I think the PLKB needs to be revived," Khofifah said in Jakarta.
Before it was stopped, the PLKB was the National Family Planning Coordinating Board's flagship program to raise awareness and to give counseling, not only about family planning but also on how to build a solid family.
"Now, where can they get consultation when they face family problems if the PLKB doesn't exist?" Khofifah said. "It's true there are religious figures, but they usually feel awkward talking about family problems."
Khofifah, the chairwoman of the women's wing of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country's biggest Islamic organization, also stressed the importance of revitalizing local health centers for mothers and children to meet mothers' and children's nutritional needs.