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The country’s biggest hospital unveiled its new women’s unit on Tuesday with a call for greater efforts to improve reproductive and maternal health services across Indonesia.

The Women’s Health Center at the government-run Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM) in Central Jakarta has been hailed by hospital officials as the most advanced facility in the country with health services exclusively for women.

“The mission of the WHC is to provide services to women in an innovative, advanced, professional and integrated way,” said Dr. Imam Susanto, head of integrated services at RSCM Kencana, the hospital’s newest wing.

“One of the pillars of the WHC is safe pregnancy and delivery,” Imam added.

Dr. Aria Wibawa, an obstetrician, said it was important to improve health services for women nationwide, particularly when it comes to the early detection of cervical cancer and reproductive health.

Although most pregnancies in Indonesia proceed without complications, he said, many require medical intervention.

However, he added, public access to that kind of medical intervention is often lacking.

Indonesia’s maternal mortality rate is 228 out of every 100,000 births, lower than the rate in less economically developed regional neighbors including Cambodia, Laos and East Timor.

Under the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals, the government must reduce the figure to 102 deaths per 100,000 births by 2015.

“Only with proper planning and management of the health sector can couples can get sound advice on planning and preparing for pregnancy so that the whole process runs smoothly,” Aria said.

People need better access to the technological advances that allow doctors to detect complications or abnormalities, he said, so parents can make early, informed decisions about the remedies or interventions available to them.

Imam said the WHC will work to tackle the complications that can arise during pregnancy and childbirth. The center’s services include pre- and postnatal counseling, as well as counseling on the use of contraceptives.

The WHC will also employ a team of specialists, including clinical nutritionists, pediatric surgeons, pediatric cardiologists and perinatologists, who specialize in high-risk pregnancies.

The center will complement an existing reproductive health clinic at RSCM, the Yasmin Kencana clinic, which offers services for ovarian cryopreservation.

Ovarian cryopreservation uses technology to extract and freeze part of a woman’s ovaries, storing it for later use. The tissue can later be thawed and implanted in the woman’s body, where it will resume producing eggs.

Cryopreservation is an option for women who want to delay marriage or pregnancy, or for those who must undergo chemotherapy or other radiation treatments that pose a threat to their ability to ovulate, said Dr. Andon Hestiantoro, a gynecologist.

The treatment is also suitable for women with a family history of early menopause, which may occur if the ovaries age faster than the rest of the body, said Dr. Budi Wiweko, one of the clinic’s obstetricians.

Yasmin Kencana is also one of only seven clinics in Jakarta and 16 nationwide that offer in vitro fertilization services.

In Indonesia, only 10-15 percent of pregnancies are achieved through in vitro fertilization, according to RSCM.

Antara