[Blurb on page 27]

According to figures released in October 2007, one woman dies nearly every minute​—536,000 a year—​because of problems associated with pregnancy.​—United Nations Population Fund

Regarding the problems that can affect mothers, the Journal of the American Medical Women’s Association states that “the major direct causes of maternal mortality” are excessive bleeding, obstructed labor, infection, and abnormally high blood pressure. Effective treatments are well-known, however, and in most cases “modern medical care . . . does not require highly technical interventions,” the journal adds.