Previous page | Risking Death to Give Life For anyone who has
been through the experience, or seen someone else go through it,
there is no doubt that childbirth is a life-changing event.
Unfortunately, as wonderful and joyful experience as it is for
many, it can also be a difficult period, bringing with it new
problems as well as the potential for suffering. In the most
extreme cases the mother, or the baby, or both, may die; these
deaths are only the tip of the iceberg. Many health problems are
laid down in the critical hours of childbirth – both for mother
and for child. Many more continue to unfold in the days and
weeks after the birth. The suffering related to childbirth adds
up to a significant portion of the world’s overall tally of ill-
health and death ( 1 ). Most of the deaths and disabilities
attributable to childbirth are avoidable, because the medical
solutions are well known. The challenge that remains is
therefore not technological, but strategic and organizational.
Maternal mortality is currentl