Every year some eight million women suffer from pregnancy-related complications and over half a million die from them. Most of these deaths can be averted even where resources are limited but, in order to do so, the right kind of information is needed upon which to base actions. This book presents ways of generating this kind of information.

The approaches described go beyond just counting deaths to developing an understanding of why they happened and how they can be averted. This book is directed at health professionals, health-care planners and managers working in the area of maternal and newborn health who are striving to improve the quality of care provided.