Worldwide, extensive efforts have been made over the
last decade to improve reproductive health services and
reduce maternal and child mortality, and impressive gains
have resulted. Still, far more women and their babies in
developing countries could be spared needless suffering
and death, especially during the risky period during and
after a birth. Maternal deaths, estimated at 284,000 in
developing countries in 2010,1 are largely due to treatable
complications at or around the time of delivery. Greater
attention must also be paid to newborn survival, as about
three million babies die annually during the first 28 days of
life—43% of all deaths under age five