The global decline in maternal mortality has stalled

Death rates in the United States have increased in recent years, as they have in Europe, according to the W.H.O. reported.

Although maternal mortality rates declined worldwide between 2000 and 2020, nearly 800 women still die every day from pregnancy-related complications, according to a grim report released Wednesday by the World Health Organization and other United Nations agencies.

Despite early improvements in maternal health during the period of 20 years, progress has stalled in many regions, and in recent years maternal mortality rates have risen sharply in Latin America, the Caribbean and, perhaps surprisingly, in Europe and North America.

Most maternal deaths are still concentrated in poor countries and countries at war. torn regions. Girls and women are most at risk in sub-Saharan Africa, where 70% of maternal deaths occur globally. A 15-year-old girl in the region has a 40-in-40 chance of dying from pregnancy-related causes.

Maternal mortality is also more common in countries experiencing humanitarian crises, such as in Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan, where there are 551 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, more than double the global average rate of 223 per 100,000.

Overall, there were approximately 287,000 maternal deaths worldwide in 2020, a decrease from 309,000 deaths in 2016 and 446,000 deaths in 2000, but below expectations . WHO. hopes to reduce the global maternal mortality rate to less than 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030.

The report defines maternal mortality as deaths occurring during pregnancy or childbirth or more than six weeks after termination of a pregnancy. The category also includes deaths caused by unsafe and illegal abortions, which account for up to 10% of maternal deaths worldwide.

An estimated 270 million women around the world do not have access to modern methods of family planning, and about half of all pregnancies worldwide are unplanned, according to Dr Anshu Banerjee, Deputy Director General for Universal Health Coverage at WHO< /p>

This leads to 73 million abortions a year, nearly half of which are unsafe, he said. "When performed under unsafe conditions, bleeding, infection and other adverse incidents will lead to mortality," Dr. Banerjee said.

The pandemic may also have contributed to persistent maternal deaths, since pregnancy puts otherwise young and healthy women at high risk of serious illness. But the new report does not fully capture the impact of Covid, as low-income and developing countries have been slower to account for Covid-related maternal deaths.

In the United States, maternal deaths have increased sharply during the pandemic. In 2021, hundreds of deaths resulted from pregnancy complications exacerbated by Covid infections, according to data from the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

But as the pandemic has may have contributed to maternal deaths globally, it "doesn't explain the stagnation we're seeing", said WHO epidemiologist Dr Jenny Cresswell. and one of the authors of the new report.

Maternal mortality rates were cut by at least half in 75 countries between 2000 and 2015, but progress have stagnated in much of the world since then, she and her colleagues found.

Exceptions were Australia and New Zealand, and parts of WHO Central and South Asia. There have been significant reductions in maternal mortality in these regions, of 35% and 16%, respectively, between 2016 and 2020.

Improvements in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have tracked efforts to increase the number of women living in remote areas who give birth with skilled attendants at primary health care facilities or hospitals close to home who can refer women to care. more complete in the event of complications.

In contrast, maternal mortality increased by 17% in Europe and North America between...