The Facts
According to a World Health Organization report released on Thursday, one woman worldwide dies every two minutes during pregnancy or childbirth — mostly from treatable conditions.
The report — which tracked maternal deaths nationally, regionally, and globally from 2000 to 2020 — found that there were an estimated 800 deaths every day in 2020.
The Spin
Narrative A
Leaders of the global public health community must recognize that reproductive rights are human rights and that every government must ensure access to high-quality critical health services before, during, and after childbirth. It's time to step up funding, training, and improving supply chains to reduce the maternal mortality rate worldwide.
Narrative B
While it's critical that women have control over their reproductive health, issues related to income inequality, family planning, education, race, and ethnicity marginalize pregnant women more than the lack of health care services or preventable conditions in pregnancy. Solving the global crisis requires a new look at the entire holistic environment that impacts women — not only providing access to health care.
