According to a new study that was released on March 8, 2025 by the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 800 women died from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth each day in the year 2020. This equates to one death every two minutes.
There will be an estimated 287,000 maternal deaths worldwide in 2020. The study, which was published in The Lancet Global Health, found that hypertensive conditions like pre-eclampsia and haemorrhage, or severe, heavy bleeding, were the leading causes of maternal mortality worldwide.
The study found that pre-eclampsia and other hypertensive disorders were responsible for 16% of maternal deaths, while hemorrhage, which typically occurs during or following childbirth, was responsible for nearly a third (27%) of maternal deaths.
The regions with the highest rates of haemorrhage-related deaths were sub-Saharan Africa, Western Asia, and Northern Africa. The proportion of deaths caused by hemorrhages varied significantly by region. Haemorrhage was responsible for 29 per cent of maternal deaths in Western Asia and Northern Africa and 28 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa. In contrast, it was responsible for 15% of maternal deaths in Australia and New Zealand.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, hypertensive disorders were the leading cause of maternal mortality. The majority of maternal deaths from hemorrhage and sepsis occurred after childbirth, according to the study.Since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), mandated by the United Nations, in 2015, this report marked the WHO's first global update on the causes of maternal mortality. It noted that during the first five years of the SDG era, progress in maternal survival between 2000 and 2015 stagnated.In 2020, the global maternal mortality ratio (MMR) stood at 223 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. According to the study, the world is not on track to achieve SDG target 3.1, which calls for lowering the global MMR to less than 70 for every 100,000 live births by 2030.The majority of deaths caused by infections during pregnancy occurred in the postpartum period, which can last up to 42 days after childbirth. Between 42 days and one year after giving birth, at least one late maternal death was reported in 111 nations.The study emphasized the urgent need to strengthen key aspects of maternity care, such as improved postnatal care, lifesaving obstetric interventions to manage critical birth-related emergencies like hemorrhage, and antenatal services that can detect risks early in pregnancy and prevent severe complications.WHO stated that it continues to work towards enhancing access to high-quality, respectful maternal health services across pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period through evidence-based research and guidelines.In 2024, WHO and its partners launched a global roadmap for postpartum haemorrhage, outlining key priorities for addressing this major cause of maternal death. The roadmap was developed through extensive consultations involving more than 130 experts from various fields.
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