This book contributes to the understanding maternal and newborn health as a global health issue to highlight the global and human rights context of maternal and newborn health. In the context of human rights and globalization, maternal and newborn health are more than the biomedical conditions that are manifest. Maternal and newborn health are presented in the context of global initiatives and partnerships such as the Millennium Development Goals and the health-related Sustainable Development Goals. The concepts of maternal and neonatal nearmiss, who represent survivors of severe maternal and neonatal morbidity, are globally recognized as measures for quality of obstetric and newborn care. The challenges and opportunities for provision of antenatal care in preventing maternal and newborn health, and providing the continuum of care from preconception care to childbirth, preterm births, low birth weight and stillbirth, and the hidden burden of these conditions, the global and international efforts to address preventable still birth and neonatal deaths, and what role health systems can play in reducing morbidity and mortality from neonatal complications.