1 Good vital registration
2 Alternative source
3 no nationally representative data
1 More than 1 in 20
2 1 in 20 to 1 to 49
3 1 in 50 to 1 in 499
4 1 in 500 to 1 in 1,999
5 1 in 2,000 to 1 in 4,999
6 Less than 1 in 5,000
7 No Data

Quality of data sources for maternal death (2015)

What does it mean ?

This indicator reflects coding for the source of maternal mortality data. As defined by the WHO, a value of '1' reflects good vital registration, '2' reflects other reliable source, and '3' reflects no nationally representative data.

Why does it matter ?

Part of the challenge in decreasing maternal mortality is accurately knowing when and where maternal deaths occur. This data is collected at the country level, with various sources of data between countries, including national vital registration, other reliable sources such as Demographic and Health Surveys, or no nationally representative data. This indicator reflects where such nationally representative data exist or don't exist. Until we know where all maternal deaths are occurring, we cannot make progress in reducing them.

How is it collected ?

These categories come from the World Health Organization's Trends in Maternal Mortality report. Group 1 indicates country estimates based on good civil registration data; Group 2 indicates modelled country estimates using available national data; and Group 3 indicates modelled country estimates where no national data are available on maternal mortality.

WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA and World Bank (2014). Trends in Maternal Mortality 1990 – 2013

Lifetime Risk of Maternal Mortality

What does it mean ?

The Lifetime Risk of Maternal Mortality is the probability that a 15 year- old girl will die eventually from a maternal cause (any cause related to pregnancy, during childbirth, pregnancy or within 42 days of childbirth), assuming that current levels of fertility and mortality do not change during her lifetime. In high fertility societies the risk is higher because on average women go through the risk associated with pregnancy and childbirth many times in their life.

Why does it matter ?

Problems during pregnancy and childbirth are a leading cause of death and disability of women of reproductive age (15-49 years) in low income countries. This indicator acts as a marker of how likely it is to face death related to pregnancy and childbirth and reflects the ability of a country's healthcare system to provide safe care during pregnancy and childbirth.

How is it collected ?

In high income countries the data for Lifetime Risk of Maternal Mortality are from national registers of deaths to women, with maternal death as the cause. Also required in the calculation is the probability of becoming pregnant (fertility rates by age).To calculate LTR, the cumulative probability over a whole life time of becoming pregnant and dying from the pregnancy is there for calculated by summing over all reproductive ages the probabilities of becoming pregnant and dying of maternal causes

LTR 2017 - World Bank. 2020. Lifetime risk of maternal death (1 in: rate varies by country). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.MMR.RISK [Accessed 9 March 2020]