• Maternal, newborn and child health

Maternal, newborn and child health

This working paper, published by Pathfinder International, investigates the association between maternal mortality and demographic, programmatic, and socioeconomic factors using longitudinal data on nearly 143,000 pregnancy outcomes during 1982-2002 from the Matlab Demographic Surveillance System in Bangladesh.

Among the four “toos” that are commonly believed to increase maternal mortality risk, too young, too short an interval, too many children, and too old, the authors find that only too old is a significant risk factor. Women under the age of 25 have the lowest risk of maternal mortality, which then increases sharply with age. Additionally, the research identifies evidence of one additional “too” -- too long; when intervals between pregnancy of five years or longer have 63% higher maternal mortality risk than those with intervals of 2-5 years. Finally, the authors find that first time pregnancies have higher risks, as do women with a history of child deaths and pregnancy losses, low levels of education, low socioeconomic status, and those living in the Matlab Comparison Area.

[adapted from author]

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