The number of women giving birth in facilities is steadily increasing around the world, but maternal and newborn health outcomes are still poor. In Kenya, over 6,000 women die annually during childbirth. Only 8% of poor women in Kenya are able to access quality maternal health services, and many don’t have the right information at their fingertips to make informed choices about where to seek care, and when.
Simply expanding health care coverage is not enough. If we focused on improving the quality of maternal care and women’s access to it, we could prevent 1 million newborn deaths and half of all maternal deaths each year.