Surviving Childbirth In Kabul

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - October 15: (EDITORS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT) Nurses prepare a critical case, Ziajan,age 35, for an emergency operation suffering from bleeding and a ruptured placenta at the Malalai Maternity hospital on October 15, 2007 in Kabul, Afghanistan. According to a UNICEF survey, one in nine Afghan women die during or shortly after pregnancy in Afghanistan, one of the highest rates in the world. At the hospital there are approximately 60 to 100 babies born each day, with many women making long journeys to receive the free medical care. UNICEF states that many pregnant women are deprived of basic health care and only 11 percent of deliveries take place in a healthcare facility. In many cases the conservative Afghan culture places the health of many women at risk. Forty percent of the women in Afghanistan are married before the age of 18 with one third having children before reaching adulthood. (Photo Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)