Three countries with serious maternal and infant health care problems see improvements

Nigeria, Ethiopia, and India — three countries with an especially high burden of maternal and infant health problems — have made progress against ensuring health care access, but underlying inequities still remain. Researchers looked at eight indicators of health — including the number of mothers who received some prenatal care compared to all who gave birth, and those who initiated breastfeeding within an hour of giving birth — and found that the study sites in Nigeria and India improved on two of the eight, while Ethiopia saw positive changes in five areas. And although there were improvements, gaps also grew: The poorest women in 2015 had the same access to delivery facilities that the least poor women had in 2012, but coverage for this latter group also increased 60% compared to three years prior.