LONDON , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- 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 . Vertical births where women are kneeling or crouching and holding on to a rope are common in Peru . 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 . The five main causes of pregnancy-related deaths in Peru are hemorrhage , pre-eclampsia , infection , complications following abortion and obstructed birth , according to Peru 's Ministry of Health figures . 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 . '' Amnesty 's report highlighted the case of Criselda , a 22-year-old indigenous woman from the country 's Huancavelica Department , one of the poorest regions of the country . While seven months pregnant , she fell and hurt herself , and after feeling pains , she went to the health post for a check-up . The doctor said she was fine and sent her away but she miscarried two days later , according to the report . The report found that so many women are dying because they face a number of barriers , including a lack of health staff who speak indigenous languages like Quechua -- a native Andean language spoken by some five million people in Peru . However , the vast majority of Peruvian doctors only speak Spanish , as they rarely come from areas or communities where indigenous languages are spoken . Criselda told researchers she believes the doctor may not have picked up her symptoms accurately because she could not understand her , and interpreters were not available . Transport problems are also a contributing factor to the high mortality rate among Peruvian indigenous women , as most of them usually have to travel long distances to a health center to get attention , the report found . Criselda 's husband Fortunato said in the report : `` There is no ambulance when there is an emergency . To go from here it takes us two or three days and sometimes they die right here because there is no vehicle or ambulance . '' 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 . Amnesty has urged the Peruvian government to allocate resources to maternal mortality and reproductive health , prioritizing the regions with the highest mortality ratios . The organization also recommends an increase in training , particularly in indigenous languages .