Everyone Deserves Safe, Respectful Maternal Care
The Center works to improve access to respectful, high-quality maternal health care for everyone.
Everyone has the right to respectful, quality maternal health care. This right applies to all, no matter their race, ethnicity, nationality, immigration status, geographic location, or financial situation. This care should be accessible and free from discrimination, coercion, and violence.
Latest news
Hawai‘i Expands Protections for Midwives After Court Challenge
Breana Lipscomb Advances Equitable Maternal Care in the U.S.
Prabina Bajracharya Advocates for Bodily Autonomy in Nepal
Women die as a result of complications during and following pregnancy and childbirth. There are 5 major complications that account for most maternal deaths.
- Severe bleeding (mostly bleeding after childbirth).
- Infections (usually after childbirth).
- High blood pressure during pregnancy (pre-eclampsia and eclampsia).
- Complications from delivery.
- Unsafe abortion.
Since 2021, as a result of the Center’s work, 441 million people have stronger legal protections for maternal health care.
Why maternal health is a reproductive rights issue
Nearly 300,000 women globally die each year from pregnancy and childbirth. Many others face discrimination, mistreatment, and abuse in maternal health care settings. The poorest and most marginalized groups often bear the highest risks. This is due to discrimination, lack of access to health services, and insufficient investment in universal care.
Our commitment to maternal health
We take legal action and lead advocacy to protect maternal health.
Explore highlights of our work on maternal health and rights.
Defending Reproductive Autonomy: Center Sues Hawaiʻi to Protect Midwifery Care
Victory in Kenya: Court of Appeal Affirms Right to Respectful Maternal Health Care
Ensuring Access to Obstetric Fistula Treatment in Sindh, Pakistan
Read the Center’s publications and learn more about maternal health.
Legal Threats to Autonomy, Choice, and Informed Consent in Labor and Childbirth
What Is the U.S. Maternal Health Crisis?
Criminalized Care: How Louisiana’s Abortion Bans Endanger Patients and Clinicians
Perilous Pregnancies: Health Care for Undocumented Migrant Women in the EU (2020)
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