Sub-Saharan
Africa has the highest rates of mortality in childbirth
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Experts have condemned the
"appalling" lack of progress made in reducing the number of women
worldwide dying during pregnancy and childbirth.
Analysis in The Lancet medical journal
shows half a million women die every year - little change from 20 years ago.
And 20 million unsafe abortions - a major
factor in maternal deaths and illness - are done annually.
A key global target of a 75% reduction in
maternal deaths by 2015 will not be met without urgent action, they warned.
Dr Richard Horton, editor of
the Lancet, said women were too often seen as "containers" for
babies and nothing more.
He said there should be no more excuses or
delay in attempts to dramatically cut the number of deaths by three-quarters,
as was set out in the Millennium Development Goals.
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 The
general message is we still have the situation we had 20 years ago - that
half a million women die every year from the complications of childbirth
and 10-20 million women suffer disability 
Ann
Starrs, Family Care International
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A study by Professor Ken
Hill from Harvard University showed that maternal deaths fell by less than 1%
a year between 1990 and 2005, although some countries showed better results.
Half of maternal deaths occur in
sub-Saharan Africa where there has been a particularly small drop over the
past two decades.
He said a "huge and urgent"
emphasis was needed to improve pregnancy and delivery care in the developing
world.
Unsafe abortion
In a separate study, also published in the
Lancet, Dr Iqbal Shah from the World Health Organization, found rates of
abortion fell globally by 17% between 1995 and 2003.
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The
number of women dying in childbirth varies dramatically worldwide from one
in eight in Afghanistan and Sierra Leone to one in 47,000 in Ireland
Maternal
health is strongly linked to access to safe abortion, contraception and
emergency obstetric care
If
a mother is ill or dies, the baby is less likely to survive and her other
children less likely to be healthy and educated
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However, the number of
abortions taking place in "unsafe" conditions remained the same -
about half of all abortions carried out.
The vast majority of unsafe abortions are
done in developing countries, the figures show.
Abortion rates were lowest in Western
Europe at 12 pregnancy terminations per 1,000 women but highest in Eastern
Europe at 44 abortions per 1,000 women.
In Africa and Asia, the abortion rate was
29 per 1,000 women.
Dr Shah said rates of abortion did not
differ according to whether access was good or highly restricted by law, and
reducing the number of unsafe abortions was "imperative".
In Bangladesh, a massive decrease in
maternal deaths has occurred because women now have access to safe abortion
services and emergency obstetric care, another study by Dr Carine Ronsmans
from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine showed.
Experts said the experience of Bangladesh -
where abortion mortality fell by 74% over the past 30 years - shows the
Millennium Development Goal are achievable.
Ann Starrs, executive vice president of
Family Care International, said maternal health had a massive impact on the
survival and health of children and on society.
"The general message is we still have
the situation we had 20 years ago - that half a million women die every year
from the complications of childbirth and 10-20 million women suffer disability."
To meet the Millennium Development Goal £3
billion ($6.1 billion) was needed by 2015, she said.
Money needs to be spent on safe abortion
and family planning services and midwives who can help women access emergency
care where necessary.
A spokesperson for Marie Stopes
International said lack of access to modern family planning resulted in
nearly 80 million unintended pregnancies every year in the developing world.
"Unsafe abortion is one of the most
neglected public health issues of our time.
"The poor health of a mother, or her
premature death from unsafe abortion, can have particularly detrimental
effects on the health and survival chances of infants."
MATERNAL
DEATHS IN 1990 AND 2005
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1990
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2005
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Mortality
rate change
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Overall
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576,300
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535,900
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-5.40%
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Developed
regions
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1,330
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960
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-23.60%
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CIS
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2,780
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1,810
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-12.50%
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Developing
regions
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572,200
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533,100
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-6.60%
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Africa
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221,000
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276,100
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-0.60%
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Northern
Africa
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8,940
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5,660
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-36.30%
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Sub-Saharan
Africa
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212,000
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270,500
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-1.80%
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Asia
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329,100
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240,600
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-19.70%
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Latin
America and Caribbean
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21,100
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15,500
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-26.30%
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Oceania
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1,050
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890
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-22.20%
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Source: The Lancet
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