Maternal Health Interventions in Rural, Resource-Limited Countries

Pregnant women are continuing to die at unacceptable rates around the globe. According to the World Health Organization, complications during pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death and disability among reproductive age women in developing countries. Maternal mortality is often a reflection of a combination of causes: medical conditions while giving birth (ie. hemorrhage, eclampsia, and sepsis); other pre-existing medical conditions (ie. malaria, diabetes, HIV/AIDS); and socio-economic factors (ie. access to contraception, religious beliefs, and political agendas) that when combined, largely compromise health care, most often in the poor, rural and marginalized communities. Nearly all maternal deaths (99%) occur in resource- limited countries due to factors that could largely be prevented, highlighting many stark inequalities.3 Women in low-income communities and rural areas are disproportionately affected. In 2015, mothers giving birth in a low-income country were nearly 20 times more likely to die of maternal complications than mothers in a high-income country.