Maternal Care improves across most of the world - including in India

As you would know, there's been a steady decline in maternal mortality, in part due to the higher number of births attended by skilled health professionals. But what are a woman's chances of surviving childbirth now and how does where she lives impact her chances?

As per the WHO data, 1 in 59 women globally faced a high chance of dying before, during or after giving birth in 1985. By 2015, her odds of surviving were around three times better. This happened because of her access to medicines, vaccines and quality health care. Births attended by skilled health workers have increased globally by 80 per cent between 2000 and 2014.

India has made progress by reducing maternal deaths by three quarters in the last three decades. Women now have greater access to antenatal check-ups, obstetric gynecologists and help with high-risk pregnancies. Institutional deliveries have risen to 78.9 per cent and more importantly, institutional births in public facilities have increased from 18 per cent to 52 per cent under NHM.

In fact, across the world - except in one region, Africa - the number of women dying in pregnancy and childbirth is falling. Two out of every three women still dying of these causes is in Africa.

The visualization shows that though we're on the right track, the world still has some way to go in making childbirth safe for all women across the globe