Maternal Mortality - an Overview
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Defining Maternal Mortality
A maternal mortality is defined as 'the death of a woman whilst pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration or site of pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes¹'. A late maternal mortality is defined as the death of a woman from direct or indirect causes more than 42 days but less than one year after termination of pregnancy.
Measuring Maternal Mortality
There are three main ways in which maternal mortality is measured:
Maternal mortality ratio = number of maternal deaths per 100 000 live births during a given time period
This is a measure of the risk of death once a woman has become pregnant.
Maternal mortality rate = number of maternal deaths per 100 000 women of reproductive age in a given time period
This reflects the frequency with which women are exposed to risk through pregnancy
Lifetime risk of maternal death
This takes into account both the probability of becoming pregnant and the probability of dying as a result of that pregnancy cumulated across a woman's reproductive years. In theory this is a cohort measure but it is usually calculated with period measures for practical purposes
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Global inequality in maternal deaths
There is huge variation in the scale of maternal mortality across the globe. The table below provides recent figures for different parts of the world:
Maternal Mortality Estimates by United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goal (MDG) regions (2000)
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Region
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Maternal Mortality Ratio (maternal deaths per 100,000 live births)
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Number of maternal deaths
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Lifetime risk of maternal death, 1 in:
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World Total
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400
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529,000
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74
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Developed Regions
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20
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2,500
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2,800
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Europe
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24
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1,700
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2,400
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Developing Regions
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440
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527,000
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61
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Africa
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830
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251,000
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20
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Northern Africa
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130
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4,600
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210
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Sub-Saharan Africa
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920
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247,000
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16
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Asia
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330
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253,000
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94
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Eastern Asia
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55
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11,000
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840
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South-central Asia
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520
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207,000
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46
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South-eastern Asia
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210
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25,000
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140
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Western Asia
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190
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9,800
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120
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Latin America & Caribbean
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190
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22,000
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160
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Oceania
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240
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530
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83
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To access the full report click HERE
WHO. International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. Tenth Revision. Geneva, WHO, 2001.
Maternal Mortality in 2000. Estimates developed by WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA. WHO, 2000.
Workshop on HIV/AIDS and adult mortality in developing countries, Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations Secretariat, New York, Sept 2003
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