Every two minutes, a woman dies during pregnancy or childbirth, a report by United Nations agencies

Every two minutes, a woman dies during pregnancy or childbirth, according
to the latest estimates released in a report by United Nations agencies
today. This report, Trends in maternal mortality, reveals alarming setbacks
for women’s health over recent years, as maternal deaths either increased
or stagnated in nearly all regions of the world.“While pregnancy should be a time of immense hope and a positive experience
for all women, it is tragically still a shockingly dangerous experience for
millions around the world who lack access to high quality, respectful
health care,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the
World Health Organization (WHO).
These new statistics reveal the urgent need to ensure every woman and
girl has access to critical health services before, during and after
childbirth, and that they can fully exercise their reproductive rights, he
stressed.

The report, which tracks maternal deaths nationally, regionally and
globally from 2000 to 2020, shows there were an estimated 287 000 maternal
deaths worldwide in 2020. This marks only a slight decrease from 309 000 in
2016.

In two of the eight UN regions – Europe and Northern America, and Latin
America and the Caribbean – the maternal mortality rate increased from 2016
to 2020, by 17% and 15% respectively. Elsewhere, the rate stagnated. The
report notes, however, that progress is possible. For example, two regions
– Australia and New Zealand, and Central and Southern Asia – experienced
significant declines (by 35% and 16% respectively) in their maternal
mortality rates during the same period, as did 31 countries across the
world.