| Code | SH.MMR.DTHS |
| Indicator Name | Number of maternal deaths |
| Short definition | A maternal death refers to the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes. |
| Long definition | A maternal death refers to the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes. |
| Source | Trends in Maternal Mortality, World Health Organization (WHO);
UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), note: Trends in Maternal Mortality;
UN Population Fund (UNFPA), note: Trends in Maternal Mortality;
World Bank Group (WBG), note: Trends in Maternal Mortality |
| Topic | Health: Reproductive health |
| Dataset | WDI |
| Unit of measure | Unit |
| Periodicity | Annual |
| Reference period | 1985-2023 |
| Aggregation method | Sum |
| Statistical concept and methodology | Methodology: The estimates are based on an exercise by the Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG) which consists of World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Bank, and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and include country-level time series data. For countries without complete registration data but with other types of data and for countries with no data, maternal mortality is estimated with a regression model using available national maternal mortality data and socioeconomic information.
Statistical concept(s): Reproductive health is a state of physical and mental well-being in relation to the reproductive system and its functions and processes. Means of achieving reproductive health include education and services during pregnancy and childbirth, safe and effective contraception, and prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases. Complications of pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death and disability among women of reproductive age in developing countries.
Maternal mortality is generally of unknown reliability, as are many other cause-specific mortality indicators. Household surveys such as Demographic and Health Surveys attempt to measure maternal mortality by asking respondents about survivorship of sisters. The main disadvantage of this method is that the estimates of maternal mortality that it produces pertain to any time within the past few years before the survey, making them unsuitable for monitoring recent changes or observing the impact of interventions. In addition, measurement of maternal mortality is subject to many types of errors. Even in high-income countries with reliable vital registration systems, misclassification of maternal deaths has been found to lead to serious underestimation. |
| Development relevance | Childbirth should be a time of life, not death. And yet, many women die due to complications of pregnancy and childbirth. Nearly every death is in low- and middle-income countries, and nearly every death is preventable where the clinical knowledge and technology required to prevent them have existed. However these solutions are often not available, not accessible or not implemented, especially in low-resource settings and/or subpopulations at greater risk due to social determinants. |
| Limitations and exceptions | The methodology differs from that used for previous estimates, so data should not be compared historically. Maternal mortality ratios are generally of unknown reliability, as are many other cause-specific mortality indicators. The figures cannot be assumed to provide exact estimates. |
| License URL | https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/public-licenses#cc-by |
| License Type | CC BY-4.0 |
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