Maternal and newborn mortality
“Why do mothers and babies still die in childbirth from causes medicine solved a century ago?”
Root causes (expand to see solutions)
Mothers and babies die from complications basic medicine can treat: bleeding, high blood pressure, infection, obstructed labour. This is typically due to:
What's at stake
Besides the obvious loss of life, a baby whose mother dies is far more likely to die in its first year. A traditional household, losing its main carer, can often slip into poverty.
The global picture
Sub-Saharan Africa
High severity
Where giving birth is most dangerous, most deaths from complications basic care can treat.
Rates also stay high across parts of Latin America and in fragile, conflict-hit states.