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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Rachel Hall and Hannah Devlin

Poverty in UK could increase death rates during or after pregnancy, warns WHO

new born baby with mother and another person, seen close up
A senior WHO doctor says there is a clear association between maternal death and deprivation. Photograph: Daniel Karmann/EPA

The cost of living crisis could exacerbate Britain’s already woeful rates of women dying during and after pregnancy, the World Health Organization has warned, with health inequalities becoming starker as more expectant mothers are plunged into poverty.

The UK is falling behind most comparable European countries, as 9.6 mothers die within six weeks of childbirth for every 100,000 babies, with suicide becoming the leading cause of death.

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