Improve maternal health

Complications from pregnancy and childbirth are a leading cause of death and disability among women of reproductive age in developing countries. In 2005 more than half a million women died from pregnancy-related causes, and about 200 million women suffered life-threatening complications and disabilities. Over 99 percent of all maternal deaths occur in developing counties, the majority in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Death in childbirth is a rare event in rich countries, where there are typically fewer than 10 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births. But in the poorest countries of Africa and Asia the ratio may be 100 times higher. And because women in poor countries have more children, their lifetime risk of maternal death may be more than 200 times greater than for women in Western Europe and North America. Women in Africa face a 1 in 22 risk of a pregnancy-related death, and risks to women from the poorest families are still greater. In contrast, the lifetime risk to women in high income countries is only 1 in 6,700.

Pregnancy and childbirth are leading causes of death and disability for women of reproductive age in developing countries. The vast majority of maternal deaths and disabilities can be prevented through appropriate reproductive health services before, during, and after pregnancy. Key among them is expanding family planning services to allow women to limit, or space their births.