Poverty Poverty is the key factor in maternal death rates. African women are at highest risk of death. The average African woman faces a one in 16 risk of dying from pregnancy or childbirth. This compares with a one in 28 risk for all developing countries and a one in 1,800 risk for women in developed countries. However, in individual countries, the risk can be even higher.
Ethiopian women face a one in nine chance of dying.
Women's health in pregnancy and the healthcare they receive in childbirth has a knock-on effect on their children. Some eight million are born dead or die within a week of birth. The WHO says there are no trained childbirth specialists present at almost half of all births in developing countries. Part of the problem is due to a lack of accessible health services, but the cost of getting help and women's position in the family are also factors. In Cairo, governments pledged to reduce maternal deaths by three quarters by 2015.