İnfant death rates in decline

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

The mother/infant mortality rate has decreased by 50 percent in the last six years in Turkey, a recent report prepared by the Federation of Family Doctors’ Associations (AHEF) has said.

AHEF Chairman Murat Girginer said the success was due to Turkey’s family doctor practice, which began in 2002.

“Family doctors are crucial for newborn babies and women who recently gave birth since the development level of a country is primarily based on the vital statistics of mothers and infants,” Girginer said at a press conference March 9.

The maternal mortality rate was 28.5 per 100,000 births in 2006 but decreased to 14.8 in 2011 while infant mortality decreased from 22.3 to 9.1 per 1,000 live births in the same time frame, according to World Health Organization (WHO) statistics.

Every family doctor in Turkey is in charge of 4,000 citizens’ healthcare.

The family doctor practice has recently started in Turkey; family doctors now keep a record
of a family’s health history and inform them about possible diseases.