Human Rights Standards on Maternal Health

More than 800 women die daily from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth –largely the result of gender inequality, discrimination, health inequities, and a failure to guarantee human rights.

Over 70% of maternal deaths worldwide result from severe bleeding, high blood pressure, infection, complications from unsafe abortion, and prolonged or obstructed labor. Most of these emergencies are preventable, if identified and managed in a timely manner. Reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to 70 per 100,000 live bi ...

More than 800 women die daily from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth –largely the result of gender inequality, discrimination, health inequities, and a failure to guarantee human rights.

Over 70% of maternal deaths worldwide result from severe bleeding, high blood pressure, infection, complications from unsafe abortion, and prolonged or obstructed labor. Most of these emergencies are preventable, if identified and managed in a timely manner. Reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030 is a key SRHR and UHC target in the SDGs.

Upholding human rights goes beyond simply preventing death during pregnancy and childbirth. The right to safe pregnancy and childbirth includes the right to access the full range of services in connection with pregnancy and the postnatal period, without being subjected to discrimination, coercion, or violence.

Health systems must guarantee that sexual and reproductive health services are available, accessible, acceptable, and of good quality. States must address the denial of women’s autonomy in decision-making that occurs across maternal health care contexts, including during prenatal care, labor, and childbirth – including violations of the right to informed consent and abuses of the doctrine of medical necessity. Examples include forced sterilization immediately following childbirth, over-medicalized and unconsented-to procedures during and immediately after childbirth, and breaches of privacy and confidentiality prior to and during a woman’s stay in a health care facility.

Such abuses violate women’s rights to physical integrity and autonomy, can cause lasting harm to their health and well-being, and have grave impacts on public health and human rights, as recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO). They disproportionately affect women, adolescents, and people of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC), as well as those from marginalized groups or with intersectional identities.

Addressing maternal health from a human rights perspective requires developing laws, policies, and practices to guarantee individuals’ health, well-being, and freedom from violence throughout pregnancy, delivery, and the postpartum period—including by creating an enabling environment for well-trained and well-supported health professionals. A human rights-based approach to maternal health also addresses the power dynamics that perpetuate inequalities, through strategic interventions such as reallocating resources, strengthening accountability mechanisms within health systems, and taking steps to dismantle negative social and cultural norms. Because providing maternal health care is a “core obligation” under international human rights law, states must ensure safe pregnancy and childbirth even in the context of economic or other challenges.