Maternal Health

You can help save the lives of mothers and children throughout Latin America and the Caribbean....

Each year, 22,000 women die from pregnancy-related causes in Latin America and the Caribbean, and countless more become disabled or seriously ill. Tragically, most of those deaths and other consequences are easily preventable.

The risk of women dying from pregnancy-related complications in Latin America and the Caribbean is one in 130, compared with one in 3700 in North America. Each day 63 women die in Latin America and the Caribbean from complications during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period.

Fact:
One of every five pregnant women in the Americas experiences complications such as high blood pressure, hemorrhaging, obstruction during delivery, or uterine infections....

Goal: To guarantee that all mothers in Latin America and the Caribbean countries:

Have adequate prenatal care and maintain good hygiene during pregnancy, delivery and after delivery.
Get vaccinated against tetanus and take iron supplements during pregnancy.
Know the danger signs during pregnancy, childbirth and post delivery and will seek help.
Seek the assistance of a skilled birth attendant when it is time to give birth.

To help save the lives of more than half of the 23,000 women who die each year from pregnancy-related causes click here.

	The Pan American Health Organization Promoting Health in the Americas