The 10 Most Deadly Diseases in the World Today

No. 8 Perinatal Conditions

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Giving birth to a child might be seen as a relatively simple and safe event in developed countries, but if certain complications come about, it can affect both the mother and the child, and this is a very real and present danger in some parts of the world still. An estimated 500,000 women die worldwide every year from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth, so you can see just how serious the event still is.

Heavy bleeding, hemorrhages, spontaneous abortions, eclampsia (seizures), or infections; all of these and more can lead a woman in labor to death. Most of these deaths do take place in underprivileged areas, with serious sanitary concerns. About 90 percent of maternal deaths occur in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.