science

Maternal mortality ratio

Maternal mortality ratio is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Maternal mortality ratio rather than just read about it. In short: The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is the annual number of female deaths per 100,000 live births from any cause related to or aggravated by pregnancy or its management (excluding accidental or incidental causes). It is not to be confused with the maternal death rate, which is the number of maternal deaths (direct and indirect) in a given period per 100,000 women of reproductive age during the same time period.

Key takeaways

Maternal mortality ratio belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Maternal mortality ratio to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Maternal mortality ratio from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is the annual number of female deaths per 100,000 live births from any cause related to or aggravated by pregnancy or its management (excluding accidental or incidental causes). It is not to be confused with the maternal death rate, which is the number of maternal deaths (direct and indirect) in a given period per 100,000 women of reproductive age during the same time period. MMR is a key performance indicator (KPI) for efforts to improve the health and safety of mothers before, during, and after childbirth per country worldwide. The statistics are gathered by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group, and the United Nations Population Division. The yearly report started in 1990 and is called Trends in Maternal Mortality. As of the 2015 data published in 2016, the countries that have seen an increase in the maternal mortality ratio since 1990 are the Bahamas, Georgia, Guyana, Jamaica, Dem. People’s Rep. Korea, Serbia, South Africa, St. Lucia, Suriname, Tonga, United States, Venezuela, RB Zimbabwe. But according to Sustainable Development Goals report 2018, the overall maternal mortality ratio has declined by 37 percent since 2002. Nearly 303,000 women died due to complications during pregnancy. With an exceptionally high mortality ratio compared to other U.S. states, the government of Texas created the Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Task Force in 2013.

Country measurements

This KPI was used for the Millennium Development Goals from 2000 to 2015 and is part of the Sustainable Development Goals. The list of countries with a comparison of this KPI in 1990, 2000 and 2015 are:

List of aggregated data by region

List of aggregated data by focus subject

See also List of countries by infant and under-five mortality rates List of countries by maternal mortality ratio List of countries by death rate Maternal mortality

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Maternal mortality ratio

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Maternal mortality ratio claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Maternal mortality ratio before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Maternal mortality ratio ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Maternal mortality ratio

In research: Maternal mortality ratio appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Maternal mortality ratio in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Maternal mortality ratio is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Causes of death, Death-related lists, Demography, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Maternal mortality ratio outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Maternal mortality ratio in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Maternal mortality ratio means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Maternal mortality ratio out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Maternal mortality ratio in simple terms?

Why does Maternal mortality ratio matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Maternal mortality ratio?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Maternal mortality ratio.