Progress on maternal mortality is slowing

Over 700 women die each day around the world from complications during pregnancy and childbirth, according to data from the World Health Organization and a group of UN agencies. The world has made undeniable progress over the last two decades in lowering the maternal mortality ratio, which is the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births during a given period. But as our Graphic Truth above shows, that momentum is now slowing, raising fears among health experts that global targets are slipping out of reach. The global maternal mortality ratio in 2023 – the most recent year for which data is available – was 197 deaths per 100,000 live births, far off the WHO’s target of reducing that figure to fewer than 70 by 2030.

So why is progress stalling now?

A combination of geopolitical instability and shifting foreign aid priorities has concentrated much of the world’s poor maternal health outcomes in low-income countries and conflict zones. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for roughly 70% of global maternal deaths despite representing a third of global births. A 15-year-old girl in the region, for example, faces a 1-in-40 lifetime risk of dying from a pregnancy-related cause, compared to a 1-in-6500 risk in Europe. Meanwhile, several studies have projected that US foreign aid cuts over the last two years weaken women’s health programs and put more mothers at risk.

Countries facing humanitarian crises and state fragility — like Yemen, Sudan, and Afghanistan — account for nearly two-thirds of all maternal deaths worldwide. In those regions, poverty, displacement, food insecurity, and collapsing healthcare systems compound the risks facing mothers.

Yet low-income countries and conflict zones are not alone. In 2023, the United States was one of only seven areas to report a notable increase in maternal deaths during pregnancies since 2000 – a paradox for the wealthiest country in the world.

In fact, the US now has the highest maternal mortality ratio among wealthy industrialized nations – and a ratio slightly higher than countries such as Iran and Ukraine, according to World Bank data. A range of factors are attributed to this, including more limited access to midwives and doulas compared with other industrialized nations, as well as the absence of guaranteed paid maternity leave – both of which have been shown to improve maternal health outcomes.

Stark racial disparities underpin those numbers in the US. In 2023, Black women died from pregnancy-related causes at a rate nearly 3.5 times higher than white women, a divide that shows up even when correcting for education levels – a common proxy for income – highlighting how maternal mortality in the US reflects broader inequalities that shape who receives care and who survives childbirth.