Nigeria

Motherhood still entails serious risks in Nigeria, due to religious beliefs, poverty, gender discrimination, and limited access to health care. It is estimated that two-thirds of all births are high risk because of the mother's age, the number of times a mother has given birth to a child, or the spacing of births. The country has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, second only to India. It is estimated that 60,000 Nigerian women die each year because of pregnancy-related complications. This figure amounts to 10 percent of the world's pregnancy-related deaths. The country's maternal mortality ratio is estimated at 800 deaths per 100,000 live births.

Because Nigerian cultures and religious beliefs continue to favor large families and early marriages, women have very ...