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The purpose of this indicator is to track maternal mortality; a general indicator of the overall health of a population, of the status of women in society, and of the functioning of the health system.

The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is defined as the number of maternal deaths during a given time period per 1,000 live births during the same time period. It depicts the risk of maternal death relative to the number of live births and essentially captures the risk of death in a single pregnancy or a single live birth.

Ministry of Health (MOH)

Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB)

Annual

Ratio (Number of maternal deaths during a given time period per 1,000 live births during the same time period)

Maternal mortality is widely acknowledged as a general indicator of the overall health of a population, of the status of women in society, and of the functioning of the health system. High maternal mortality ratios are thus markers of wider problems of health status, gender inequalities, and health services in a country.

Maternal death: 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 (from direct or indirect obstetric death), but not from accidental or incidental causes.

Pregnancy-related death: The death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the cause of death.

Late maternal death: The death of a woman from direct or indirect obstetric causes, more than 42 days, but less than one year after termination of pregnancy. 

Maternal mortality ratio (MMR): Number of maternal deaths during a given time period per 100,000 live births during the same time period.

Maternal mortality rate (MMRate): Number of maternal deaths divided by person-years lived by women of reproductive age.

Adult lifetime risk of maternal death: The probability that a 15-year-old woman will die eventually from a maternal cause.

The proportion of deaths among women of reproductive age that are due to maternal causes (PM): The number of maternal deaths in a given time period divided by the total deaths among women aged 15–49 years.

Current MMR estimates are reported at Country, Regional, and Global levels. Regional level estimates have income strata per World Bank classification.

The maternal mortality ratio can be calculated by dividing recorded (or estimated) maternal deaths by total recorded (or estimated) live births in the same period and multiplying by 100 000. Measurement requires information on pregnancy status, timing of death (during pregnancy, childbirth, or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy), and cause of death. The maternal mortality ratio can be calculated directly from data collected through vital registration systems, household surveys or other sources.

This indicator can show the magnitude of the problem of maternal death in a country as a stimulus for policy action. Technical strategies, implementation plans, and a road map to achieving high coverage with quality maternal health services should be developed.

• Maternal death is relatively rare event and mortality is difficult to measure accurately. Many low-income countries have no, or very little data and modelling is used to obtain a national estimate.
• It is hard to gauge whether the maternal mortality ratio under or over estimates the level for the general population.
• Other problems related to using health services information include inaccuracies in routine registers and omission of deaths occurring outside maternity wards.
• Maternal mortality ratios are only a broad indication of the level of maternal mortality, rather than a precise measure, because of the limitations inherent in most measurement methods.

All the metadata shown in this document was gathered from United Nation Statistics Division. The metadata was extracted from https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/.