BMJ 1994;308:353-354 (5 February)

Editorials

Pregnancy's toll in the developing world

About one woman a minute - or half a million women a year - die of complications of pregnancy. The top five killers are unsafe abortion, hypertensive disease of pregnancy, bleeding, obstructed labour, and infection. Most of these deaths occur in developing countries, and the death toll is increasing as the number of women of childbearing age increases.1 Estimated maternal mortality in Africa, Asia, and Latin America is 600, 400, and 240 deaths per 100 000 live births respectively compared with rates in some developed countries of less than 10 per 100 000 live births.2 Many other women suffer the long term effects of poorly managed labours or unsafe abortions.

Deaths and serious illness due to pregnancy are often the final disastrous results of social, economic, and cultural pressures that affect women in the developing world. Undervalued and uneducated as children, many marry young and are overworked and underfed as . . . [Full text of this article]


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Relevant Article

Women's reproductive health Women left destitute by AIDS
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BMJ 1994 308: 789-790. [Extract] [Full Text]

This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Craft, N. (1995). Beijing and the future of women. BMJ 311: 580-581 [Full text]  
  • Berger, A, Logie, D E, Logie, A W, Elias, C J (1994). Women's reproductive health Women left destitute by AIDS. BMJ 308: 789-790 [Full text]  

Rapid Responses:

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MATERNAL MORTALITY OR A MOTHER'S DEATH?
Bruce Currey
bmj.com, 23 May 2000 [Full text]
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