Special emphasis must be placed on prenatal and post-natal care, essential obstetric care and care for newborns, particularly for those living in areas without access to services.

Progress

High levels of antenatal care coverage across developing world

The antenatal period is an important time for reaching pregnant women with a number of interventions essential to their health and well-being and that of their infants. Overall, three-quarters (75 per cent) of women in the developing world are attended by a skilled health provider at least one time during pregnancy.

The highest levels were found in Latin America and the Caribbean (94 per cent) and CEE/CIS (90 per cent) while South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are home to the lowest levels of antenatal coverage, at 65 per cent and 69 per cent respectively. Many of these women, however, attend fewer than the four antenatal care visits recommended by WHO and UNICEF.

Source: UNICEF global databases.

Regions have extended coverage of antenatal care over past decade

Every region made major progress over the past decade in extending coverage of antenatal care for women at least once during pregnancy. Across the developing world (excluding China), the proportion of women receiving antenatal care at least one time increased from 60 per cent in 1995 to 75 per cent in 2005, based on the subset of countries with trend data. South Asia showed major increases in coverage, with levels rising from 46 per cent in 1995 to 65 per cent in 2005. Similarly, the Middle East and North Africa also experienced significant improvements during this time period, with coverage rising from 56 per cent to 71 per cent.

Contraceptive prevalence lags in Sub-Saharan Africa

Source: UNICEF Global Databases.

While contraceptive prevalence among women who are married or living in union is relatively high (61 per cent) across the developing world, sub-Saharan Africa lags far behind, with less than one-quarter (23 per cent) of married women using any form of contraception. Sub-Saharan Africa is also home to the greatest number of maternal deaths.