Maternal mortality is a human rights issue, delegates insist

Women Who Die Needlessly: Maternal Mortality as a Human Rights Issue

GIVING BIRTH IS A UNIQUE EVENT. Apart from being a crucial physiologic process for mother and child, it is a psychological, social and sociological phenomenon. If it is a first birth for a young and recently wed girl, she becomes a mother, of a different and elevated status. In some societies this status is further enhanced if the newborn is a male. In ordinary circumstances, the birth of a chi...

Maternal mortality in the United States: a human rights failure.

With 99% of maternal deaths occurring in developing countries, it is too often assumed that maternal mortality is not a problem in wealthier countries. Yet, statistics released in September of 2010 by the United Nations place the United States 50th in the world for maternal mortality — with maternal mortality ratios higher than almost all European countries, as well as several countries in Asia...

Developing a Human Rights-Based Approach to Addressing Maternal Mortality

Maternal mortality and human rights: landmark decision by United Nations human rights body.

79 Reducing the world’s maternal mortality ratio by three quarters between 1990 and 2015 is one objective of Millennium Development Goal 5. However, progress towards this objective has been slow,1 despite global commitment and the fact that the majority of maternal deaths, 99% of which occur in developing countries,2 can be prevented through well known interventions. So what more is needed to g...

Maternal health and human rights.

In Malawi the maternal mortality ratio is extremely high. Since almost all maternal deaths are avoidable, maternal mortality is also an issue of human rights. This paper examines the root causes of high maternal mortality in Malawi and applies a human rights-based approach to the reduction of maternal mortality. It recommends roles for the various duty-bearers. It describes indicators to monito...