Maternal mortality rates have dropped substantially over the past quarter century but still are not declining fast enough to meet ambitious international goals for eradicating deaths during childbirth, a recent study suggests. Globally, maternal mortality declined 44 percent from 385 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 216 in 2015, researchers report in The Lancet. That represents far less progress than the ambitious target of a 75 percent reduction that world leaders set for this time period. In developing countries, most women who die during pregnancy, childbirth or the period shortly after delivery die from excessive bleeding, high blood pressure or infection, said lead study authors?Leontine Alkema of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Doris Chou of the World Health Organization in Geneva. Read More at www.reuters.com