Maternal mortality—the death of a woman during pregnancy, childbirth, or in the 42 days after delivery—is often a preventable tragedy and comprehensive efforts to save the lives of both mothers and their children must be a priority of governments.
 
A study funded by the Gates Foundation published in April 2010, reports the number of women dying from pregnancy-related causes worldwide has dropped from 526,300 in 1980 to 342,900 in 2008. Without maternal deaths attributed to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, there would have been 281,500 maternal deaths worldwide in 2008. Significant progress in reducing maternal mortality has been achieved as countries head toward achieving the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015, particularly the reduction of maternal mortality by three/quarters from 1990 levels, MDG #5.  
 
Increasingly, however, maternal health is addressed as a component of reproductive health; both maternal and reproductive health have been defined by some government and UN officials as including access to abortion. The phrase “safe abortion” is the ultimate oxymoron. All abortion—legal or illegal—is unsafe for children and hurts women physically and psychologically. Medical data strongly suggests that induced abortion significantly raises the risk of premature and low birth weight children born to women who have earlier undergone abortion.
 
Women deserve access to health care that will save their lives and the lives of their precious children. Health policies that parliamentarians enact and government officials promulgate need to affirm dignity and respect for the lives of both mothers and unborn children to achieve MDG 4, reduction in child mortality along with MDG 5, reduction in maternal mortality. There are at least two lives at risk in every pregnancy –more in multiple pregnancies—and all have an inherent right to life and human dignity.
 
PNCI supports health programs that provide safe passage for both mothers and their children during the critical time of childbirth and advocates for programs that provide pregnant women with access to emergency obstetric care to save their lives as well as their babies. Complications from childbirth such as severe bleeding— the number one cause of maternal death—can be treated and women’s lives saved if women have access to clean blood for transfusions, skilled birth attendants to recognize obstetric emergencies and provide active management of the third stage of labor, safe and sanitary birthing conditions, antibiotics, and prevention and treatment of obstetric fistula. 
 
PNCI promotes women’s access to health care throughout pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period and for the prevention and treatment of illness and disease especially for HIV/AIDS, high blood pressure, anemia, malaria and heart disease which are indirect causes of maternal deaths.
 
PNCI document
Maternal Mortality: A Critical Issue
 

Links:

American Association of Pro Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG)
Provides a number of papers on maternal mortality which examines the problems associated with accurate data collection
http://www.aaplog.org/complications-of-induced-abortion/induced-abortion-and-maternal-mortality/
 
C-Fam
Provides research and statistics on the controversy and facts surrounding maternal mortality http://www.c-fam.org/publications/id.168/default.asp
 
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
Details the study Maternal mortality for 181 countries, 1980-2008: a systematic analysis of progress towards Millennium Development Goal 5
http://www.healthmetricsandevaluation.org/resources/news/2010/maternal_deaths_fall_0410.html