New Delhi, March 11 -- Every day in 2020, approximately 800 women died from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, equating to one death every two minutes, according to a new study released by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 8, 2025.

In 2020, an estimated 287,000 women worldwide died from maternal causes. The study, published in the journal The Lancet Global Health, identified haemorrhage - severe heavy bleeding - and hypertensive disorders such as pre-eclampsia as the leading causes of maternal mortality globally.

According to the study, haemorrhage, which typically occurs during or following childbirth, accounted for nearly a third (27 per cent) of maternal deaths, while pre-eclampsia and other hypertensi...