Every two minutes a woman dies in the world due to problems during pregnancy or childbirth. It is the devastating estimate that a report on maternal mortality prepared by various UN agencies, which warns of “alarming” setbacks in women’s health in recent years.

The study ‘Trends in maternal mortality‘, which covers the period from 2000 to 2020, reveals that in that last year some 287,000 maternal deaths worldwideonly a slight decrease compared to the data of 2016, when the Sustainable Development Goals were launched and 309,000 were counted.

Thus, and although considerable progress was made in reducing these deaths between 2000 and 2015, since then they have stagnated and even regressed in some cases. In fact, in two of the eight UN regions, the maternal mortality rate has even increased in recent years: in Europe and North America, it was up 17% between 2016 and 2020, as well as 15% in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Besides, the pandemic could have further slowed progress, but, since the data series ends in 2020, we will have to wait to verify its true effects on maternal mortality. Still, COVID-19 infections can increase risks during pregnancy, the United Nations warns, urging countries to ensure women’s access to the vaccine and adequate prenatal care.

The report also reveals the need to significantly accelerate progress in this area to meet the global targets for reducing maternal deaths. Otherwise, the lives of more than a million women are at risk from now to 2030.

Poor and war zones, where pregnancy is most dangerous

Maternal mortality, according to UN agencies, continues concentrating mainly on the poorest areas of the world and in those conflict-torn countries. In 2020, approximately 70% of all these deaths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, in nine countries with severe humanitarian crises, the rate was more than double the global average: 551 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, compared to 223 globally.

The leading causes of maternal mortality These are severe bleeding, high blood pressure, pregnancy-related infections, complications from unsafe abortions, and underlying conditions that may worsen during pregnancy, such as HIV and AIDS or malaria. In this sense, the WHO emphasizes the importance of primary care to meet the needs of women and warns that their underfunding, lack of trained workers and weak supply chains for medical products jeopardize progress.

In this regard, the United Nations agencies point out that a third of women do not receive even four of the eight prenatal check-ups recommended or essential postnatal care, while some 270 million do not have access to modern family planning methods. Inequalities related to income, education, race or ethnicity, they warn, further increase the risks for marginalized pregnant women.

Access to health, essential to curb maternal mortality

In light of this report, the director of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has regretted that the pregnancy “remains unfortunately an incredibly dangerous experience for millions of women from all over the world”. The new data, he maintains, reveal “the urgent need to guarantee” access to essential health services “before, during and after childbirth” and that women “can fully exercise their reproductive rights”.

For the executive director of UNFPA, Natalia Kanem, the figure of more than 280,000 deaths in a single year “is unacceptable.” “It is unacceptable that so many women continue to die unnecessarily. during pregnancy and childbirth,” she asserted, calling for investments in family planning and delivery care personnel. “We have the tools, knowledge, and resources to put an end to preventable maternal deaths; what we need now is political will,” she asserted.

For her part, the executive director of UNICEF, Catherine Russell, has claimed that “no mother should fear for her life when bringing a baby into the world“, calling for all mothers to be offered “the fair chance of a safe delivery and a healthy future with their family.”

John Wilmoth, director of the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, has stressed that reduce maternal mortality It is still “one of the most urgent challenges in global health” and has called for “sustained national and international efforts and unwavering commitments” to end this scourge: “We have a collective responsibility to ensure that every mother, wherever she is, survives childbirth, and that she and her children thrive “, has added.