Doctor's efforts get U.N. boost
10/24/2003
By PATRICIA NORRIS Staff writer
pnorris@repub.com
SPRINGFIELD - Dr. Rita Luthra's Web site has helped improve women's health around the world.
Now the Springfield physician and her project are being recognized by the United Nations.
Luthra, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Mercy Medical Center, will speak to U.N. officials in New York City today about her women's health project and the reproductive biology research of her colleague, Dr. Robert L. Barbieri of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
As founder of the Women's Health Education Centers at Mercy Medical Center and Holyoke Medical Center, Luthra oversaw the creation of an international Web site - WomensHealthSection.com - to help physicians in various countries battle the high mortality rate of women in developing nations.
The Women's Health Education Center was granted non-governmental organization status from the U.N. Department of Public Information in June, meaning the center will routinely share their research with the U.N. community and be able to use U.N. expertise in various research projects.
"The objective of WomensHealthSection.com is to provide a platform for the exchange of information between the U.S. and developing countries," Luthra said. "We are hopeful that this will provide a useful factual basis for action for all those working for safe motherhood."
Maternal mortality is a serious problem in developing nations, said Luthra.
Every day at least 1,600 women die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth. Some 90 percent of those deaths are preventable with modern medical care.
The Web site, designed and maintained by Eclectechs.com of Northampton, features five sections: violence against women, obstetrics, gynecology, urology/gynecology and health care policies about women's health. It soon will be available in seven languages including Arabic, Hindi and Chinese.
"Here (in the U.S.) society is very open about women's health," said Luthra. "Maybe (through the Web) other societies will start to feel that openness."
Other doctors involved in the project are Barbieri, Dr. Francis H. Boudreau of St. Elizabeth's Medical Center and University Medical Center of Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, Dr. Howard L. Minkoff of the Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Dr. B.S. Kodali and Dr. Neeraj Kohli, both of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospitals.
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