[The risk approach and maternal mortality: a Latin American perspective]

Maternal mortality in Latin America and the Caribbean is a health problem that reflects the existing inequalities in the Region, as expressed in the loss of more than 28,000 women every year as a result of abortions and complications of pregnancy, childbirth, and the puerperium. This situation is associated with the limited coverage and low quality of health and family planning services and, in particular, with the tremendous unmet need for family planning services in many countries of the Region. The risk approach is proposed as an effective method for enhancing health care, especially in the area of maternal and child health. Systematically applied, this method will help to improve reproductive health.