Pregnancy is a precious gift but without proper health assistance and health care, it might pose serious complications to both the mother and unborn baby. According to a report by the United Nations and the World Bank Group, maternal mortality rate improved by 44 percent since 1990.
In the report published in the journal The Lancet, maternal deaths globally dropped from 532,000 in 1990 to around 303,000 in 2015. However, only nine countries achieved a U.N. developmental goal of reducing maternal deaths by 75 percent in the last 25 years.
Bhutan, Maldives, Cambodia, Cape Verde, East Timor, Laos, Iran, Mongolia and Rwanda were able to reduce their MMRs by 75 to 90 percent.
This goal is under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a program endorsed by the United Nations in its aim to halt poverty, provide universal primary education and stop the spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
The significant reduction in death among pregnant women before, during or after delivery was associated with increased efforts to provide high quality health services during pregnancy, reproductive health services and family planning.
"Over the past 25 years, a woman's risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes has nearly halved. That's real progress, although it is not enough. We know that we can virtually end these deaths by 2030 and this is what we are committing to work towards," Dr. Flavia Bustreo, WHO Assistant Director-General, Family, Women's and Children's Health said in a press release.
An estimated 99 percent of all maternal deaths occurred in developing or third world countries with Sub-Saharan Africa accounted to 66 percent of pregnancy-related deaths. East Asia reported the greatest improvement with an estimated 27 per 100,000 live births from 95 in 1990 accounting to a 72 percent decrease.
"The education of women and girls, in particular the most marginalized, is key to their survival and that of their children. Education provides them with the knowledge to challenge traditional practices that endanger them and their children," UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Geeta Rao Gupta, said.
Though accuracy of data representing maternal deaths improved through the years, more works need to be done to ensure complete and accurate civil registration systems that can include births, deaths and even cause of deaths. Furthermore, maternal death reviews should be implemented showing why and how these deaths happen. This will help in implementing programs to prevent such tragedies.
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