New data released by WHO and other United Nations agencies warn of stagnation in maternal mortality rates in some countries in Europe between 2016 and 2020, despite progress made over the past 20 years.

Maternal mortality is a key indicator of women’s health and a measure of a health system’s efforts to promote sexual and reproductive health. The new report “Trends in maternal mortality 2000 to 2020” uses available national data on maternal mortality from 2000 to 2020. It finds that progress in some countries slowed down or stopped between 2016 and 2020.

In 2020, around 1000 women in the WHO European Region died due to complications related to pregnancy or childbirth. “Each and every one of these deaths represents a heartbreaking loss of a woman or girl, and all the opportunities she could have had in the future. Maternal mortality is a devastating reality that can be prevented if women are provided with timely and adequate care during pregnancy and childbirth,” says WHO Regional Director for Europe Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge.