This publication explores the factors responsible for the huge number of preventable maternal deaths that continue to occur each year. It documents the range of problems - from personal fatalism, through social customs, to the shortcomings of the health services - that must be understood if the special and long-neglected health needs of women are to receive appropriate attention. . .The first chapter illustrates the dimensions of the problem through a review of available data on death rates and risks associated with childbearing. Numerous case histories and examples from field research are then used to explore the various social, cultural, and political factors which together determine the status of women, their health, fertility, and health-seeking behaviour. Questions of causes and prevention are included.