Bangladesh, Jan. 22 -- Every two minutes, a woman dies from complications of pregnancy or childbirth. Most of these deaths would be preventable with timely care.

Timely care, however, can be difficult to access in many of the countries where Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) works, where violence, poverty, insecurity, and other obstacles can delay care or push it out of reach when it's needed. For a pregnant woman with complications like eclampsia or hemorrhage, this can be life-threatening.

"When complications arise, speed is critical," says Raquel Vives, an MSF midwife and sexual and reproductive health expert. "But predicting them isn't always possible."

"Maternal mortality points to many factors that generally ...