WHO: Women's deaths missed due to narrow focus on childbirth

A new analysis from the World Health Organization (WHO) Europe highlights that the majority of women's deaths in the region are not related to childbirth, despite health systems continuing to primarily focus on recording and preventing maternal mortality.

According to the analysis, over 3,500 women died from maternal causes between 2018 and 2022 across the European Region. These deaths were almost all preventable, even though 98% of births occur in health facilities and 99% are attended by skilled staff.

The report indicates that progress in reducing maternal mortality has stalled. The WHO suggests that the current approach, which overemphasizes childbirth complications, overlooks many other health risks and causes of death affecting women. This can lead to a significant number of female deaths going unrecorded or their underlying causes not being adequately identified.

The WHO urges its member states to re-evaluate how deaths among women are monitored and analyzed. The aim is to ensure that all female deaths, regardless of cause, are identified, recorded, and investigated properly. This would help in developing more effective health strategies and better allocating resources to promote women's health more broadly.