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Rebecca Voelker, JAMA contributor

JAMA. 1998;279:1058.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Throughout 191 nations worldwide, this year's observance of World Health Day could have been called Mother's Day.

The World Health Organization (WHO) chose safe motherhood as its theme for the observance, held April 7, to emphasize the high morbidity and mortality women suffer during pregnancy and childbirth. According to the WHO, more than 585000 women die each year from complications related to pregnancy and birth. Nearly 99% of the deaths occur in developing nations.

Statistics show the disparities. In the United States, about 20 women die for every 100000 births. But in some regions of Africa, the death rate may be as high as 1000 per 100000 births. About one fourth of pregnant women experience a serious complication during labor or at delivery, including excessive bleeding, infections, and preeclampsia.

The WHO and other groups supporting the safe motherhood theme of World Health Day recommend that physicians, . . . [Full Text of this Article]