Study: Birth control saves hundreds of thousands of lives

Here’s a new study that further confirms what rational people already know: that offering women easy access to contraception not only makes sexual relations and reproduction safer and more controllable, it literally saves lives by the hundreds of thousands all over the world in areas of widespread use. From The Lancet:

Findings
We estimate, using model I, that 342 203 women died of maternal causes in 2008, but that contraceptive use averted 272 040 (uncertainty interval 127 937—407 134) maternal deaths (44% reduction), so without contraceptive use, the number of maternal deaths would have been 1·8 times higher than the 2008 total. Satisfying unmet need for contraception could prevent another 104 000 maternal deaths per year (29% reduction).

Interpretation
Numbers of unwanted pregnancies and unmet contraceptive need are still high in many developing countries. We provide evidence that use of contraception is a substantial and effective primary prevention strategy to reduce maternal mortality in developing countries.

Of course, again, this is nothing new to anyone who actually pays attention to the facts and evidence instead of baseless ideological rhetoric. Which, coincidentally, is all that needs to be said about the hypocritical zealots who latch onto the label of “pro-life” whilst screaming at desperate women who try to enter abortion clinics – often as a direct result of a lack of easily available birth control.

(via The Words on What…)

Tags: birth control • contraception • The Lancet • pro-life • pro-lifers • maternal mortality