Does poverty bind developing countries to high levels of maternal death in childbirth? Or, as safe motherhood advocates claim, do public health and social policy interventions have the potential to accelerate maternal mortality transitions? Globally almost one in 200 births leads to the death of the mother, an alarmingly high figure, so this is an issue of critical international import. In this article I analyze determinants of national maternal mortality levels with a view to shedding light on these questions. I do so through a cross-national regression of 95 countries from across the developing and developed world. I find that wealth indicators explain only a portion of the variance in national maternal mortality levels. Other determinants, including women's empowerment levels and national pregnancy care rates are more clearly associated with national maternal mortality levels than are measures of wealth. The results offer grounds for optimism concerning the potential for global safe motherhood efforts to induce maternal mortality transitions. They also offer support for the position that institutional agency in the form of public health and social policy has the capacity to transcend material constraints that exist in poor countries and to make a difference in mortality levels.
Learning Objectives: In this paper audience members will learn of the relationship among women's status, safe motherhood policy interventions, national wealth levels and national maternal mortality levels
Keywords: Safe Mother Program, Mortality
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.