Nearly 3 million pregnant women and newborns die yearly, WHO finds

A new WHO report finds that although fewer pregnant women and newborns are dying prematurely, some 2.8 million of them die every year. Between 2000-2017, the ratio of maternal deaths per 100,000 births dropped by 38% worldwide. At the same time, nearly 300,000 women died during or after pregnancy in 2017, and most of these deaths were in low-income settings and were preventable. When it comes to child mortality, the overall rate for children under 5 decreased by nearly 60% since 1990, although the share of neonatal deaths within this group increased. According to the report, the current pace of progress will mean that many countries won’t meet the UN’s 2030 goals for maternal and childhood mortality — more than 1 million women will die if the targets aren’t met, as will some 10 million children under the age of 5.