Maternal Mortality

The World Health Organization defines maternal mortality as a woman dying from pregnancy-related causes during or within 42 days of giving birth, represented as a ratio per 100,000 live births in the population being examined. In the United States, about 700 women die each year as a result of pregnancy or delivery difficulties. The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is calculated by dividing the number of maternal deaths over a specific time period by the number of live births (per 100 000 live births). MMR is considered high if it exceeds 300 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births, and extremely high if it exceeds 1000 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births; low MMR is defined as 20–99 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births, and moderate MMR is defined as 100–299 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births.