One Woman Dies Every 2 Minutes Due To Pregnancy Complications: UN

One woman dies every two minutes worldwide due to pregnancy or childbirth complications, with the majority of maternal deaths concentrated in the poorest parts of the world and in countries affected by conflict, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported.

In a statement released Thursday, the United Nations agency said that 287,000 women died globally from maternal causes in 2020 only, translating to almost 800 deaths per day.

"While pregnancy should be a time of immense hope and a positive experience for all women, it is tragically still a shockingly dangerous experience for millions around the world who lack access to high quality, respectful health care," Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of WHO, said in the statement.

The recent deaths marked only a slight decrease from 309,000 in 2016 when the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) came into effect, the agency said.

"While the report presents some significant progress in reducing maternal deaths between 2000 and 2015, gains largely stalled, or in some cases even reversed, after this point."

According to WHO, about 70% of all maternal deaths in 2020 were in sub-Saharan Africa. Meanwhile, maternal mortality rates in countries facing severe humanitarian crises were more than double the world average. This figure translates to 551 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, compared to 223 globally.

The agency cited several leading causes of maternal deaths, such as severe bleeding, high blood pressure, pregnancy-related infections, complications from unsafe abortion, and underlying conditions that can be aggravated by pregnancy, such as HIV/AIDS and malaria.

In the U.S. maternal mortality rates increased by 75% over the past two decades, according to an ABC News report. From roughly 12 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000, the figures rose to 21 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020.

The U.S. is one of the eight countries and territories the report flagged as having a significant percentage increase in maternal mortality rates.

Each year, 700 women die in the U.S. as a result of pregnancy or delivery complications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Since the Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System – conducted to understand risk factors in pregnancy-related deaths — was implemented, the number of reported pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. steadily increased from 7.2 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1987 to 17.3 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2018, per CDC.