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  Introduction

? A maternal death is defined as the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management.

  Reference: Reduction of Maternal Mortality
A Joint WHO/UNFPA/ UNICEF/ World Bank Statement, WHO, 1999)

For most women around the world, childbirth and motherhood are normal and healthy experiences. However, for many mothers and newborns it can also mean death or long term illness resulting from preventable complications related to pregnancy and childbirth.

It has been estimated that every minute of the day, somewhere in the world, one woman dies because of complications that arise during pregnancy and childbirth. This results to almost 600,000 deaths annually. Of these, almost 90 percent deaths occur in developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. In Nepal every year, 4, 500 women dies of pregnancy and childbirth related complications i.e. 12 women per day or one every two hours.

In Nepal, women’s health is not a priority within the family or even to the women herself. Women do not see the need to seek health care until their state becomes so serious that it interferes with daily work. Pregnancy is viewed as a routine condition that requires no change in habits or special care. 89% of the deliveries took place at home, usually under septic conditions. Many women delivers in fields far from their house and in some parts of the country, many women are traditionally confined to the cowshed. Most of the deliveries are attended by the family members or untrained traditional birth attendants. Only 8% of the deliveries are attended by the skilled birth attendants. Other barriers to women health care include poverty, distance to service facilities, lack of roads, lack of transport and lack of emergency services