Maternal deaths, cause of death data per 100 000 live births

Maternal deaths, cause of death data per 100 000 live births
Indicator code: E080100.F This indicator shares the definition with the parent indicator \"\".

Number of maternal deaths. ICD10: O00-O99. A maternal death is 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. There are two alternative sources of information on maternal mortality which are used to calculate this indicator: a) Routine mortality data by cause statistics, regularly reported to WHO (in most cases from Central Statistical Offices); b) Hospital data reported to Ministries of Health. Normally, the numbers of maternal deaths from both sources should be identical, what is the case in most western countries. However, in some countries, mainly of eastern Europe, there are large differences because of national practices of death certification and coding. In such cases hospital data are more complete/ accurate. Since the January 2001 issue of HFA db, the maternal mortality rate is calculated using both data (when both figures are reported), taking the larger figure if unequal. Experts argue that even in countries with good vital registration systems maternal mortality is actually higher by approx. 50%. WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA have developed such adjusted estimates for 1990 and 1995.