 Risk of death in childbirth can be as high as 1 in 7Pregnancy and childbirth complications are the leading cause of death and disability for women of reproductive age in developing countries. In Afghanistan, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Somalia, a woman faces a 1-in-7 lifetime risk of dying due to pregnancy or childbirth. But in Spain, Switzerland, Canada and Norway, the risk is 1 in 7,300 or less.In 17 countries, women face at least a 1-in-10 chance of dying from pregnancy-related causes sometime during their lives. But in 16 countries the lifetime risk is 1 in 4,000 or less. Complications from pregnancy and childbirth kill about 585,000 women each year. A woman faces that danger each time she becomes pregnant, so the more pregnancies she has, the greater the total risk. Lifetime risk of maternal mortality is based on both the risk of dying from maternal causes and the average number of births. No public health problem shows greater disparity between rich and poor countries than maternal mortality. Most obstetric deaths are linked to five causes: haemorrhage, sepsis
(blood poisoning), eclampsia (convulsions leading to coma), unsafe abortion
and obstructed labour. A number of interventions—improved emergency obstetric
care to deal with serious complications, deliveries performed by skilled
birth attendants, family planning, iron folate supplements, a rich and
varied diet throughout pregnancy and prompt initiation of breastfeeding—vastly
improve the odds.
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