The Perils of Childbirth in Afghanistan

Difficult Pregnancy
Last year, Baguma, above, suffered from severe pains and bleeding during a delivery. She tried to make the two-and-a-half hour journey on foot to the nearest clinic, but did not make it, giving birth instead behind some rocks on the road. In this photo, Baguma is pregnant again, but, like the other woman in this remote village, says she dares not leave again to deliver.

• How Can the Incidence of Maternal Mortality be Reduced?