WUNRN
UN News Centre
6
May 2014 – Rates of maternal deaths are down, according to United Nations
figures released today, but pre-existing medical
conditions heighten the risk of death for pregnant women and require continued
investment in quality care during pregnancy and childbirth.
An estimated 289,000 women died
in 2013 from complications in pregnancy and childbirth, down from 523,000 in
1990, according to the UN World Health Organization’s (WHO)
Trends in maternal mortality estimates 1990 to 2013. The figure represents a
decrease of 45 per cent.
Among its findings, the report
shows that 11 countries that had high levels of maternal mortality in 1990 have
reached the Millennium Development Goal (MDG)
target of a 75 per cent reduction. These include
“A 15-year-old girl living in
sub-Saharan
“A girl of the same age living
in
Meanwhile, more than one in four
maternal deaths are caused by pre-existing medical conditions such as diabetes,
HIV, malaria and obesity, whose health impacts can all be aggravated by
pregnancy, according to a second WHO study.
According to the UN agency’s
study of more than 60,000 maternal deaths in 115 countries, pre-existing
medical conditions exacerbated by pregnancy caused 28 per cent of the deaths.
This is similar to the proportion of deaths during pregnancy and childbirth
from severe bleeding.
This second report, Global
causes of maternal death: a WHO systematic analysis, was published today in The
Lancet Global Health.
“Together, the two reports
highlight the need to invest in proven solutions, such as quality care for all
women during pregnancy and childbirth, and particular care for pregnant women
with existing medical conditions,” said Flavia Bustreo, Assistant
Director-General for WHO’s Family, Women’s and Children’s Health.
Marleen Temmerman, Director of
WHO’s Reproductive Health and Research, and co-author of the study, added that
the figures show an increased burden from noncommunicable diseases on women.