Global maternal deaths have declined over the past three decades, yet progress has slowed in recent years and\u00a0remains\u00a0uneven across countries, according to new Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2023\u00a0research published today in\u00a0The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women’s Health.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The study estimates that\u00a0240,000 women\u00a0died from maternal causes in 2023, accounting for 5.5% of all deaths among women aged 10-54 worldwide. Maternal deaths\u00a0remain\u00a0concentrated in regions facing the greatest health system and data challenges, particularly across sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania,\u00a0South Asia, Southeast Asia,\u00a0and parts of the Caribbean. In 2023, Nigeria, India, the Democratic Republic of\u00a0the\u00a0Congo, Ethiopia, and Pakistan recorded the highest numbers of maternal deaths worldwide.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The analysis, led by researchers at the\u00a0Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)\u00a0at the University of Washington and collaborators worldwide, provides the most up-to-date global assessment of maternal mortality trends across 204 countries and territories through 2023, including subnational estimates for 20 countries. The study incorporates more than\u00a01,000\u00a0newly available data sources and updated modeling\u00a0approaches, and\u00a0also provides updated estimates of causes of maternal death, progress toward global targets, and trends during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Progress toward maternal mortality targets has slowed in many countries.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While\u00a0the global maternal mortality ratio declined by more than one-third, from 321\u00a0maternal\u00a0deaths per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 191 in 2023, it\u00a0remains\u00a0far above the SDG target as progress has slowed in recent years. Maternal mortality fell more rapidly between 2000 and 2015, when maternal mortality ratios declined by\u00a0nearly 3%\u00a0per year on average. Since 2015, however, progress has\u00a0slowed considerably, with\u00a0global declines averaging only about 0.5% per year and some countries experiencing increases in maternal mortality.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2023, the highest maternal mortality ratios were\u00a0observed\u00a0across the four regions of sub-Saharan Africa, as well as parts of the Caribbean and Oceania.\u00a0Countries with particularly elevated rates included\u00a0Liberia, the Central African Republic,\u00a0Haiti,\u00a0Eritrea,\u00a0and\u00a0Sierra Leone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nWhile the world made impressive strides in reducing maternal mortality after 2000, momentum has slowed since 2015 and, in some places, has started to regress. To reverse this trend, health systems must strengthen access to quality care before, during, and after pregnancy, particularly in countries where maternal mortality remains highest.”<\/p>\n
Dr. Mae Dirac, senior author and Assistant Professor of Health Metrics Sciences and Family Medicine<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Leading causes of maternal deaths\u00a0remain\u00a0largely preventable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The study shows that the leading causes of maternal deaths vary by location but remain well known and\u00a0largely preventable, with maternal hemorrhage and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy responsible for the largest share of deaths globally. Improvements in access to antenatal care, safe delivery services, emergency obstetric care, and post-partum follow-up could\u00a0substantially reduce\u00a0mortality, especially in countries with the highest burdens.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, many high-burden regions\u00a0remain\u00a0data-sparse, making it harder to track progress and respond quickly to\u00a0emerging\u00a0challenges. Expanding high-quality vital registration, maternal death surveillance, and local data systems will be critical to guide effective policy and investment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Maternal mortality is both a health system challenge and a reflection of broader inequities affecting women’s health,”\u00a0said Ira Martopullo, co-lead\u00a0author\u00a0and a PhD candidate in Global Health Metrics at the University of Washington and IHME.\u00a0“In some countries, progress has followed economic growth and expanded health resources. Others, including Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Cambodia, have reduced maternal deaths by expanding access to facility-based delivery and strengthening maternal health services despite ongoing resource limitations.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pandemic disruptions temporarily increased maternal deaths in some regions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beyond the known causes of maternal death, COVID-19\u00a0infection\u00a0also led to increases in maternal mortality\u00a0early in the pandemic. During 2020 and 2021,\u00a0prior to widespread vaccination, COVID-19 caused\u00a0temporary increases in\u00a0maternal deaths in several regions,\u00a0particularly in locations with high COVID-19 mortality. Increases were\u00a0observed\u00a0across parts of Latin America and the Caribbean, Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and high-income North America, temporarily reversing progress in some countries that had previously been approaching SDG targets.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Globally,\u00a0the\u00a0maternal mortality ratio remained\u00a0relatively stable\u00a0during the peak pandemic years, but health system disruptions and increased infection risks during pregnancy contributed to setbacks in several locations. In most places with data available through 2022 and 2023, maternal mortality returned toward pre-pandemic trends, highlighting both health system resilience in some settings and vulnerability in others.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While some locations have returned to pre-pandemic maternal mortality trends, levels\u00a0remain\u00a0far above global targets in many parts of the world. With\u00a0less\u00a0than five years\u00a0remaining\u00a0to meet SDG target 3.1,\u00a0renewed global action and sustained investment will be needed to accelerate progress, strengthen health systems, and improve countries’ ability to\u00a0monitor\u00a0and reduce maternal mortality.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Source:<\/p>\n
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation<\/a><\/p>\n
Journal reference:<\/p>\n
Faith, J., et al. (2026). Global, regional, and national levels and trends in maternal mortality, progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, and mortality from COVID-19 infection in pregnant women, 1990\u20132023: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023. The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women\u2019s Health.\u00a0DOI: 10.1016\/S3050-5038(26)00047-6. https:\/\/www.thelancet.com\/journals\/lanogw\/article\/PIIS3050-5038(26)00047-6\/abstract<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Global maternal deaths have declined over the past three decades, yet progress has slowed in recent years and\u00a0remains\u00a0uneven…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":81597,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[64,18,94431,135,1119,19,17,146,48837,154,2645,172,12000],"class_list":{"0":"post-406091","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-covid-19","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-gynaecology","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-health-systems","13":"tag-ie","14":"tag-ireland","15":"tag-mortality","16":"tag-obstetrics","17":"tag-pandemic","18":"tag-pregnancy","19":"tag-research","20":"tag-womens-health"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116299109862859633","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406091"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406091\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}