International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

Zambian health minister Kapembwa Simbao has said that there are an unacceptable number of maternal deaths in the African nation, it has been reported.

More than half of pregnant women in the country have died from pregnancy complications, which is "frustrating" for the government, reports All Africa.

In developing countries, shorter maternal height has been linked to higher child mortality rates, according to a new study.

Short mothers are also more likely to give birth to underweight children who have a reduced rate of growth, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health in the US found.

A new free healthcare programme aimed at reducing maternal and infant mortality rates in Sierra Leone, Africa, has just been launched, it has been reported.

According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), 11 per cent of maternal deaths in Nigeria are a result of malaria.

The disease also accounts for one in every four child deaths and one in ten of the mortalities of pregnant women, reports China's Xinhua news agency.

Pregnant women are poorly nourished and take vitamin supplements could reduce their risk of giving birth to underweight babies, a new study has found.

A newly-identified gene has been found to increase women's susceptibility to hereditary breast and ovarian cancers.

The gene, called RAD51C, is essential for DNA repair within cells but mutations in the gene can cause breast or ovarian cancer, according to the study conducted by researchers in Germany, the UK and US that was published in Nature Genetics.

Exposure to pollutants during pregnancy can lead to cognitive development problems in women's offspring, a new report has found.

A new study has proposed that better family planning and provisions for safe abortions will help reduce rates of maternal mortality.

It also suggested that improved conditions during labour and emergency obstetrical care could cut the rates by 75 per cent in less than a decade, according to a study by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health in the US.

Uganda is expected to launch a new drive to tackle the problem of maternal mortality in the country, it has been reported.

According to the Guardian, the initiative will begin next month and will aim to reduce maternal mortality rates in the African nation.

Smoking when pregnant can increase the risk of babies being born with the debilitating eye disorder strabismus, also known as being 'cross-eyed', according to researchers.