47
motherless each year.
These children are more
likely to die within 1-2
years of their mothers'
death.
Women need not die in
childbirth. We must give a
young woman the
information and support
she needs to control her
reproductive health, help
her through a pregnancy,
and care for her and her
newborn well into
childhood. The vast
majority of maternal
deaths could be prevented
if women had access to
quality family planning
services, skilled care
during pregnancy,
childbirth and after
delivery, or post-abortion
care services and where
permissible, safe abortion
services. 15% of
pregnancies and
JOY FEELINGS MAGAZINE
childbirths need
emergency obstetric care
because of risks that are
difficult to predict. A
working health system
with skilled personnel is
key to saving these
women's lives.
Maternal death is
defined as "The death of a
woman while pregnant or
within 42 days of
termination of pregnancy,
irrespective of the
duration and the site of the
pregnancy, from any cause
related to or aggravated by
the pregnancy or its
management, but not from
accidental or incidental
causes." The number of
maternal deaths in 2013
was 293,000 down from
377,000 in 1990 The top