The Increase in Female Survival at Reproductive Ages: An Appraisal of the Contribution of Maternal Mortality

Vladimir Canudas-Romo, Johns Hopkins University
Li Liu, Johns Hopkins University
Saifuddin Ahmed, Johns Hopkins University

The maternal mortality disparity in the world is greater than in any other health indicator. We study the abridged life expectancy between ages 15 and 50: Its historical time trends for developed and some developing countries, and quantify the contribution of maternal mortality. Five years of gain in this abridged life expectancy were gained mainly during the twentieth century in the developed and some developing countries. Of this gain in the abridged life expectancy between ten to thirty percent is due to maternal mortality, varying from country to country, and in Sub-Saharan countries the possible gains might be even bigger. The assessment of the timing and contribution of maternal mortality in the survivorship of reproductive aged women along with the changes in other causes of death could further our understanding of the particular circumstances that propitiated the increase in survival through the decline in maternal mortality.