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The mortality rates of pregnant women and new mothers around the world are still alarmingly high, and a new analysis has begun to reveal why.
A new study has shown that a pregnant woman or new mother dies every two minutes - and most of these deaths are preventable. According to a report published by the European news network in Brussels "Euronews", which added "According to the World Health Organization, in 2020 there were about 287,000 maternal deaths worldwide, which are deaths that occur at any time during pregnancy and up to six weeks after birth and are directly related to pregnancy.

Almost all maternal deaths occur in low-income countries, with women in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia facing particularly high risks.

The new study is the first update issued by the World Health Organization in more than a decade on why these deaths occur.

The findings provide evidence on how to save the lives of pregnant women and new mothers in high-risk countries and around the world.

Dr. Jenny Cresswell, a scientist at the World Health Organization and lead author of the study, told Euronews Health: "Providing care is not complicated and it is not rocket science."

The report found that between 2009 and 2020, the most common causes of death worldwide were haemorrhage - severe bleeding, usually during or immediately after childbirth - as well as preeclampsia and problems with Another is high blood pressure, which can lead to stroke or organ failure if left untreated.
Health problems made worse by pregnancy, such as infections or chronic illnesses, were another major cause, according to the study published in The Lancet Global Health.
Other major causes included sepsis, blood clots and complications from miscarriage.
Few countries had data on maternal mental health problems, but researchers said suicide was a major concern for women in the first year of motherhood.
Maternal deaths reflect broader problems
Joyce Brown, an associate professor of global health and epidemiology at the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands, said maternal deaths were the “canary in the coal mine” that signaled wider health, societal and political problems.
“If they have access to good care, if the social determinants are well taken care of, women generally don’t die,” Brown, who was not involved in the study, told Euronews Health.
The report noted that the higher risk of bleeding in low-income countries, for example, reflects “persistent inequalities” in access to high-quality emergency medical care. Without it, a woman can bleed to death within two hours.

Meanwhile, women in Latin America and the Caribbean are more likely to die from complications related to high blood pressure, which often occur in the first week after giving birth.

Deaths do not tell the whole story, either. For every woman who dies in pregnancy or childbirth, many others suffer life-threatening complications known as “near-fatalities.”

For example, in seven sub-Saharan African countries, one in 20 women will experience a near-fatal complication in their lifetime, a separate study found last year. One in six women in Guatemala is at risk.

“Deaths are just the tip of the iceberg,” Creswell said.

Promoting maternal health
The new findings underscore the need for greater coordination across the health system, such as obstetrics, primary care, emergency services and mental health support, Creswell said.
She added that it also suggests that broader efforts to strengthen health systems in low-income countries could pay off and improve maternal health.

These gains may be incremental, Brown said. International health guidelines say that when a woman is preparing to give birth, the baby’s heartbeat should be monitored every few minutes.

But in areas where there are not enough medical staff, this may only be possible once an hour — and that’s better than nothing.

Health workers “need practical guidance to ensure they are doing the best they can in the context they are in, while striving to do even better in the future,” Brown said.

The study only includes data up to 2020, meaning it doesn’t take into account how the COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed health systems and workers around the world.

“We already know that the situation is not progressing as quickly as we would like,” Brown said, adding that the US decision to cut global health programmes, including maternal and child health initiatives, adds to the uncertainty about the future.
Despite the challenges, some progress has been made in recent decades. Since the turn of the century, 69 countries have at least halved their maternal mortality rates. Sub-Saharan Africa has cut its rate by 33 percent, according to the World Health Organization. “We have good data on why women die,” said Jenny Creswell, lead author of the study. “The important thing is to invest in care and solutions to prevent it happening again.”