Maternal mortality: community-based interventions.

Maternal mortality is one of the great neglected problems of health care in developing countries. The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 500,000 women die each year from pregnancy-related causes, over 98% of these deaths occurring in the developing world, where maternal mortality is as much as 100 times higher than rates seen in industrialized countries. The most common causes include obstructed labor and ruptured uterus, postpartum hemorrhage, eclampsia, postpartum infection and complications of illegal abortion. It is suggested that no new or costly technologies are needed; rather that appropriate priority setting and allocation of needed resources are essential to the solution of the problem. There are few interventions that hold much hope of success at the village level, although antibiotics, ergotrate, and sedatives might be productively utilized, after appropriate training. Overall, however, networks of maternity care facilities, trained personnel, and means of transport are necessary to provide needed emergency maternity care services.