Data Lab | A wake-up call: One woman dies every 2 minutes in pregnancy, childbirth: UN

The United Nations stated on February 23 that despite maternal death rates declining by a third in 20 years, a woman still dies every two minutes due to complications during pregnancy or childbirth.

The UN reported that rates reduced substantially between 2000 and 2015, but mostly stalled and even reversed in certain countries between 2016 and 2020.

Belarus saw the biggest fall, dropping 95.5 per cent, while Venezuela experienced the highest rise. The United States saw a significant increase between 2000 and 2015. 

The worldwide maternal mortality rate decreased by 34.3 per cent during a 20-year period, going from 339 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000 to 223 maternal deaths in 2020, according to a report by the World Health Organization and other UN organisations. 

Yet, that implies that in 2020, almost 800 women died every day, or one every two minutes.

"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," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

"These new statistics reveal the urgent need to ensure every woman and girl has access to critical health services... and that they can fully exercise their reproductive rights," she added.

The poorest nations continue to have the highest rates of maternal mortality.

Around 70 per cent of those deaths recorded in 2020 were in sub-Saharan Africa, where the rate is "136 times bigger" than in Australia and New Zealand, the report's author Jenny Cresswell told AFP. 

Rates were more than double the world average in Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, all of which are dealing with serious humanitarian crises.

The most common causes of mortality are severe bleeding, infections, complications from botched abortions, and underlying diseases including HIV/AIDS, according to the report. 

The WHO said it was "critical" that women have control over their reproductive health, notably about whether or not to have children. This gives women the ability to plan and space out childbearing in order to safeguard their health.

Where does India stand?

India's maternal mortality ratio (MMR), which measures the number of deaths per 100,000 live births, decreased from 103 deaths per lakh in 2017–2019 to 97 deaths per lakh in 2018–2020. The most recent statistics made available by the Ministry of health and family welfare show that this represents a significant improvement above the 130 deaths per lakh in the years 2014 to 2016.

Assam continues to have the highest MMR (195) in the area, but its own performance has improved with time.

The MMR in the northeastern state was alarmingly high with 237 fatalities per one lakh live births between 2014 and 2016. According to statistics provided on November 28, 2022, this has improved over time, reaching 229 in 2015–2017, 215 in 2016–2018, and 205 in 2017–2019.

Kerala continues to do well in this respect, with a low MMR of 19 per one lakh live births.

The southern state continuously outperformed the nation as a whole and has nearly always decreased even that number, from 46 in 2014–2016, 42 in 2015–2017, 43 in 2016–2018, and 30 in 2017–2019.

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