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Physical Autonomy

Maternal mortality

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Number of women who die from any cause related to or aggravated by pregnancy or its management (excluding accidental or incidental causes) during pregnancy and childbirth or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, per 100,000 live births.

Show indicator in CEPALSTAT Show technical note and sources in CEPALSTAT

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.

Analysis

The measurement of maternal mortality is a complex process and the data from the different sources available does not necessarily coincide with each other. For purposes of comparability across countries and within the framework of the MDGs, the UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-agency Group (MMEIG)) makes the calculation of the rate of maternal mortality for each country. This information does not always correspond with the information that countries have according to their records, which is collected by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). While data considered for the monitoring of SDG (formerly MDG) correspond to the information provided by the MMEIG, the OIG publishes both data.

Although the maternal mortality ratio calculated by the Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG) for Latin American and Caribbean countries shows a significant decline as a regional average in recent years, from 88 per 100,000 live births in 2005 to 74 in 2017, it has been through ups and downs over the period, indicating that the problem has not yet been solved. According to MMEIG, several countries in the region still have a maternal mortality ratio above the target 3.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals, which seeks to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030.