Maternal Health Beyond Delivery: action to address multifactorial health inequity

While significant gains have been made to address the global burden of maternal mortality, as demonstrated by the 34.5% reduction between 2000 and 2020,1 progress has been uneven. A disproportionate burden is evident in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs),1,2 particularly in the perinatal phase,3, 4, 5 a neglected yet critical period for action to prevent morbidity and mortality. This series: Maternal Health in the Perinatal Period and Beyond, jointly published in The Lancet Global Health and eClinicalMedicine, presents four papers outlining the complex factors driving adverse health outcomes in the perinatal and later post-partum periods and strategies to address this maternal inequity.