Two Worlds

For a pregnant woman anticipating the birth of her first child, the weeks leading up to labor are inevitably filled with hopeful thoughts as well as uncertainty about what lies ahead. Yet for women in developing nations—far more so than in wealthy countries like those in North America and Europe—there is also reason to be fearful. One in five African women, for instance, will lose a baby during labor or soon after. And each year, hundreds of thousands of women in Africa will themselves die or suffer debilitating injuries during pregnancy and childbirth. In this quiz, get a sense of the stark disparities in maternal health for women in rich and poor countries.—Susan K. Lewis

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