Corruption in maternal and perinatal health negatively affects the health of mother and child in different ways. Corruption can divert much needed funds from obstetric healthcare specifically, driving down the quality of the services provided. Informal payments can deter low-income pregnant mothers from giving birth in institutional facilities, imperiling their lives and their unborn children. Such practices can also damage the trust relationship between patient and doctor. Unnecessary procedures, particularly caesarean sections, can be driven by profit or to facilitate and speed up births in an understaffed environment. More research should be done on the drivers of the different corruption risks to understand how to mitigate them.