The journal Reproductive Health Matters marked the 20th anniversary of the World Health Organization's Safe Motherhood Initiative with an analysis of data related to the risks of childbirth.

The report found the maternal mortality ratio fell nearly 5.5 percent from 430 to 400 per 100,000 live births between 1990 and 2005.

Maternal deaths fell by more than 20 percent in developed areas of North Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and the South Pacific, while in sub-Saharan Africa the number of maternal deaths increased between 1990 and 2005, the report said.