Every day, nearly 800 women die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth. A great many of these deaths are preventable; however, there is no single, straightforward solution. Because identification of every woman who will have a life-threatening complication during pregnancy or childbirth is impossible, saving of women’s lives during pregnancy and childbirth needs a systems approach with on-call structures in place that can respond immediately and effectively to these complications, around the clock. This challenge is daunting for most of the countries where the burden of maternal mortality is highest, but should not paralyse action. To accelerate progress to reach Millennium Development Goal 5, health systems should bring solutions to the women who need them most, and make these solutions sustainable at adequate scale.
Published in Lancet Global Health 2014: 2(3), E133-E134.