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Pregnant women in Peru are dying at scandalous rates, according to the author of an Amnesty International report into maternal mortality in the South American country.

The report, “Fatal Flaws: Barriers to Maternal Health in Peru” found that hundreds of poor, rural and indigenous pregnant women are dying because they are being denied the same health services as other women in the country.

It also concluded that the government’s response to tackling the problem was inadequate.

Peruvian government figures state 185 in every 100,000 women die in child birth, but the United Nations says the number is much higher at 240, which makes it one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the Americas.

In wealthy developed nations, only nine women die for every 100,000 births.

Amnesty’s Peru researcher Nuria Garcia said in a statement: “The rates of maternal mortality in Peru are scandalous. The fact that so many women are dying from preventable causes is a human rights violation.

“The Peruvian state is simply ignoring its obligation to provide adequate maternal healthcare to all women, regardless of who they are and where they live.”

Garcia added: “Health services for pregnant women in Peru are like a lottery: if you are poor and indigenous, the chances are you will always lose.”

According to the report, 27 percent of deaths of women from pregnancy-related causes occurred during pregnancy; 26 percent occurred during the birth itself; and 46 percent during the first six weeks after giving birth.