| Course | DPH 830 Global Health |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 5 |
| Paper type | Maternal, infant and women's health paper |
| Length | About 1,120 words, 7 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Doctor of Public Health |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for DPH 830 Module 5
Too Far to Walk, Too Late to Save: Maternal, Infant and Women's Health in a Global Frame
Student Name
Doctor of Public Health Program, Aspen University
DPH 830: Global Health
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Too Far to Walk, Too Late to Save: Maternal, Infant and Women's Health in a Global Frame
Most maternal and newborn deaths are preventable with care that has existed for decades. That they still occur in large numbers, overwhelmingly in low- and middle-income countries, reflects failures of access, quality and equity rather than of medical knowledge. This paper examines the causes of maternal death, the delays that turn complications into deaths, strategies that work, infant survival and women's health more broadly.
Causes of Maternal Death
Say and colleagues analyzed 60,799 maternal deaths recorded from 2003 to 2009 for WHO and found that hemorrhage caused about 27%, hypertensive disorders about 14%, sepsis about 11%, abortion about 8% and embolism about 3%, while indirect causes, preexisting conditions worsened by pregnancy, accounted for about 28% (Say et al., 2014). Most of these conditions can be managed if recognized and treated promptly.
The Three Delays
Thaddeus and Maine (1994) described three delays that lead to maternal death: delay in deciding to seek care, delay in reaching a facility and delay in receiving adequate care once there. The model shifts attention from individual risk factors to the social, geographic and health system barriers between a woman and effective treatment.
Delays, Barriers and Responses
The table links each delay to common barriers and to interventions that address them.
| Delay | Common barriers | Interventions |
|---|---|---|
| Deciding to seek care | Low awareness of danger signs; decision power held by others; cost fears | Community education; birth preparedness plans; removing user fees |
| Reaching care | Distance, roads, transport cost | Maternity waiting homes; emergency transport schemes |
| Receiving adequate care | Missing staff, drugs, blood; poor quality | Emergency obstetric care; supplies; training; audits |
Strategies That Work
Campbell and Graham (2006) reviewed strategies and concluded that the most effective approach is intrapartum care by skilled birth attendants in health centers, backed by access to emergency obstetric care for complications. Community-based approaches alone cannot manage hemorrhage or eclampsia; facilities must be staffed, equipped and reachable.
Emergency Obstetric Care
Emergency obstetric care includes treatment with antibiotics, uterotonic drugs and anticonvulsants, removal of retained products, assisted delivery and, at comprehensive levels, cesarean section and blood transfusion. Planning ensures enough facilities offer these functions within reach of the population.
Newborn and Infant Survival
Many infant deaths occur in the first month of life, from prematurity, complications during birth and infections. Simple measures save lives: clean delivery, immediate drying and warming, early breastfeeding, resuscitation when needed, cord care and prompt treatment of infections. Kangaroo care, continuous skin-to-skin contact, helps preterm and low-birthweight babies. Postnatal visits in the first days after birth, when most newborn deaths occur, allow health workers to spot danger signs early.
Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding protects infants against infections and supports development, and it benefits mothers. A Lancet series estimated that scaling up breastfeeding to near-universal levels could prevent about 823,000 child deaths a year and 20,000 deaths from breast cancer (Victora et al., 2016). Supportive workplace policies, counseling and regulation of formula marketing help mothers breastfeed.
Women's Health Beyond Pregnancy
Women's health includes far more than maternity. Cervical cancer, preventable through vaccination and screening, remains a leading cause of cancer death among women in low-income countries. Intimate partner violence, anemia, mental health conditions and access to contraception all affect women's health and autonomy across the life course.
Quality of Care
As more women give birth in facilities, quality becomes central. Facility births do not save lives if staff lack skills, drugs are missing or women are treated disrespectfully. Respectful maternity care, in which women are treated with dignity and informed consent, encourages facility use and improves outcomes. Mistreatment during childbirth, including neglect and verbal abuse, has been documented in many countries and deters women from returning.
Equity
Within countries, maternal and infant mortality are highest among the poorest, least educated and most rural women. Programs should track coverage by wealth and region and direct resources toward groups left behind. Removing user fees and providing transport have narrowed gaps in several settings. Programs should also reach women in conflict zones and displaced populations, where services often collapse.
Health Education Approaches
Health education helps address the first delay. Community groups that discuss danger signs, birth planning and newborn care, often led by women from the same community, can change practices and increase care seeking. Education works best when the services it promotes are available and of good quality.
Data and Accountability
Maternal death reviews, which examine each death to identify avoidable factors, help facilities and districts learn and act. Civil registration of births and deaths, including causes, supports accountability at national level.
Family Planning
Access to contraception reduces maternal deaths by preventing unintended pregnancies, including those at high risk because of age or short intervals between births. Family planning also enables women to pursue education and work. Unmet need for contraception remains high in many low-income countries, particularly among young and unmarried women.
Adolescent Girls
Adolescent girls face distinct risks: early marriage, early pregnancy, school dropout and limited power in decisions about their own health. Pregnancy complications are among the leading causes of death for girls aged 15 to 19 in many regions. Programs that keep girls in school, delay marriage and provide adolescent-friendly services protect both health and opportunity.
Community Health Workers in Maternal Care
Community health workers can identify pregnant women early, encourage antenatal visits, help families plan for birth, recognize danger signs and visit newborns at home. Their work addresses the first two delays, and links with facilities ensure that women they refer receive care when they arrive.
Nutrition
Maternal nutrition affects both mother and child. Anemia increases the risk of death from hemorrhage, and undernutrition contributes to low birthweight. Iron and folic acid supplementation, food support in pregnancy and attention to adolescent nutrition before pregnancy all contribute to healthier outcomes.
Mental Health
Depression during and after pregnancy is common worldwide yet rarely detected in low-income settings. It affects mothers' wellbeing and children's development. Trained community workers delivering simple psychological interventions have reduced perinatal depression in several trials, showing that mental health care can be integrated into maternal services.
Measuring Progress
Progress is tracked through the maternal mortality ratio, the share of births attended by skilled personnel, neonatal mortality and coverage of antenatal and postnatal care. Because maternal deaths are relatively rare events in any one district, facility audits and reviews of each death often reveal more about quality than rates alone.
Conclusion
Maternal and infant deaths remain concentrated where women face delays in deciding, reaching and receiving care. Evidence points to skilled birth attendance with emergency obstetric care, newborn care, breastfeeding support and attention to women's health beyond pregnancy. Programs that address all three delays, with quality and equity at the center, can prevent most of these deaths.
References
Campbell, O. M. R., & Graham, W. J. (2006). Strategies for reducing maternal mortality: Getting on with what works. The Lancet, 368(9543), 1284-1299. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69381-1
Say, L., Chou, D., Gemmill, A., Tunçalp, Ö., Moller, A.-B., Daniels, J., Gülmezoglu, A. M., Temmerman, M., & Alkema, L. (2014). Global causes of maternal death: A WHO systematic analysis. The Lancet Global Health, 2(6), e323-e333. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(14)70227-X
Thaddeus, S., & Maine, D. (1994). Too far to walk: Maternal mortality in context. Social Science & Medicine, 38(8), 1091-1110. https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(94)90226-7
Victora, C. G., Bahl, R., Barros, A. J. D., França, G. V. A., Horton, S., Krasevec, J., Murch, S., Sankar, M. J., Walker, N., & Rollins, N. C. (2016). Breastfeeding in the 21st century: Epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect. The Lancet, 387(10017), 475-490. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)01024-7
Reading the DPH 830 Module 5 assignment instructions
Aspen lists infant mortality and women's health in its description of DPH 830, and with the fifth module's instructions reserved for enrolled students, this sample takes a global view of both. Such papers usually ask you to describe the burden and causes, apply a framework, evaluate interventions and address equity. Start from the causes of death. Use a framework such as the three delays. Put barriers and interventions in a table. Cover newborns as well as mothers. Include women's health beyond pregnancy. Discuss quality and respectful care. Report causes and figures with their years and sources, and explain the difference between ratios and rates.
Inside the DPH 830 Module 5 example
Causes of maternal death open the example, followed by the three delays model and a three-column table of delays, barriers and interventions. Effective strategies, emergency obstetric care, newborn survival and breastfeeding come next, then women's health beyond pregnancy, quality, equity, health education and data. The paper then widens to family planning, adolescent girls, community health workers, nutrition, mental health and progress tracking. Its margin comment points out that starting with causes reveals which interventions matter most. The delays table serves as a map for the rest of the paper, since each later section addresses one or more delays. Additional sections extend the discussion from mothers to newborns, adolescents and women across the life course, with attention to mental health and nutrition.
DPH 830 Module 5 rubric: what earns full marks
Maternal and infant health papers are judged on accurate data, sound use of frameworks, evidence-based interventions and attention to equity and quality. This paper cites a WHO systematic analysis of maternal deaths, the three delays paper, a review of maternal mortality strategies and a Lancet breastfeeding series in APA style. The delays table is practical. Quality and respectful care are addressed. Attention to adolescent girls and mental health shows breadth that graders notice. The paper keeps the focus on preventable deaths and the interventions that address them. It uses the three delays model to organize both analysis and recommendations, and it treats respectful maternity care as part of quality rather than an optional extra.
DPH 830 Module 5 help from the desk
Students often list interventions without linking them to causes or delays. Others focus only on facilities and ignore communities. Map each intervention to a cause and a delay. Include the newborn period. Address women's health beyond childbirth. Discuss equity by wealth and region. If you are unsure which interventions have the strongest evidence, a tutor can help you find recent reviews. End with the delay your chosen program would address first. Pick a country or region and find its maternal mortality ratio and skilled birth attendance rate with dates. Identify which delay is most important there, using evidence rather than assumption. Propose interventions matched to that delay. Remember that education without available services can raise demand that the system cannot meet, so pair the two in your plan.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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DPH 830 Module 5 questions, answered
What does DPH 830 Module 5 usually ask for?
Aspen's DPH 830 covers infant mortality and women's health, so a paper on maternal, infant and women's health worldwide is typical. Follow your classroom prompt.
What is the three delays model?
A framework describing delays in deciding to seek care, reaching care and receiving adequate care.
What is the leading cause of maternal death?
Hemorrhage, followed by hypertensive disorders and sepsis, with indirect causes also accounting for a large share.
Where can I find a free DPH 830 Module 5 sample paper?
The maternal, infant and women's health paper is available above with a table linking the three delays to barriers and interventions.
What is the three delays model in DPH 830 Module 5?
A framework describing delays in deciding to seek care, reaching care and receiving adequate care, used to target interventions.