- Women die as a result of complications during and following pregnancy and childbirth.
- Most of these complications develop during pregnancy and most are preventable or treatable.
- Other complications may exist before pregnancy but are worsened during pregnancy, especially if not managed as part of the woman’s care.
- The major complications that account for nearly 75% of all maternal deaths are:
- severe bleeding (mostly bleeding after childbirth)
- infections (usually after childbirth)
- high blood pressure during pregnancy (pre-eclampsia and eclampsia)
- complications from delivery
- unsafe abortion.
- The remainder are caused by or associated with infections such as malaria or related to chronic conditions like cardiac diseases or diabetes.
CREDIT: WHO