UN Report Suggests 1 Pregnant Woman Or Newborn Dies Every 7 Seconds

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed that one pregnant woman or newborn dies every seven seconds as global progress in reducing deaths of pregnant women, mothers and babies, has flatlined for eight years.

In its new report published on Tuesday, the World Health Organization attributed the increase in maternal and newborn deaths to decreasing investments in the sector.

The report, Improving maternal and newborn health and survival and reducing stillbirth, assesses the latest data, which have similar risk factors and causes, and tracks the provision of critical health services.

Overall, the report shows that progress in improving survival has stagnated since 2015; with around 290,000 maternal deaths each year, 1.9 million stillbirths – babies who die after 28 weeks of pregnancy – and a staggering 2.3 million newborn deaths, during in the first month of life.

The report shows that over 4.5 million women and babies die every year during pregnancy, childbirth or the first weeks after birth, equivalent to one death happening every seven seconds, mostly from preventable or treatable causes if proper care was available.

The new publication was launched at a major global conference in Cape Town, South Africa.

The COVID-19 pandemic, rising poverty, and worsening humanitarian crises have intensified pressures on stretched health systems. Just one in 10 countries (of more than 100 surveyed) report having sufficient funds to implement their current plans.

According to the latest WHO survey on the pandemic’s impacts on essential health services, around 25 per cent of countries still report ongoing disruptions to vital pregnancy and postnatal care and services for sick children.

“Pregnant women and newborns continue to die at unacceptably high rates worldwide, and the COVID-19 pandemic has created further setbacks to providing them with the healthcare they need,” Dr. Anshu Banerjee, Director of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing at WHO said.

“If we wish to see different results, we must do things differently. More and smarter investments in primary healthcare are needed now so that every woman and baby — no matter where they live — has the best chance of health and survival.”