Every year almost 300,000 women die in childbirth. Although worldwide there has been significant progress over the last decade in reducing maternal mortality, there is still much to be done. Basic interventions such as the presence of a trained midwife, improving maternal nutrition, providing latex gloves for women to take with them to a clinic for delivery, transportation to a birthing center, or providing access to emergency obstetric care can have a significant effect on reducing the number of women who die either in pregnancy, in childbirth, or in the 42 days after delivery. In sub-Saharan Africa, the maternal mortality rate remains acutely high, due in part to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.