Question

Maternal mortality is defined as number of maternal deaths per

• A. 1000 live births
• B. 10,000 live births
• C. 1,00,000 live births
• D. 1,00,000 pregnancies

Hint:

Note this question uses the Indian textbook rate definition, not the WHO ratio figure per 100,000.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

This question is about how maternal mortality is measured, and there are two related terms worth separating clearly: a rate and a ratio.

1. 1000 live births: This matches the Maternal Mortality Rate as defined in standard Indian preventive and social medicine textbooks, where maternal deaths in a year are divided by live births in that year and expressed per 1000.
2. 10,000 live births: Not the standard denominator used for this measure in either the Indian textbook definition or the international one.
3. 1,00,000 live births: This is the denominator used by the World Health Organization for the Maternal Mortality Ratio, which is the figure commonly seen in global reports, but it is a different named measure from the rate this question is testing.
4. 1,00,000 pregnancies: Maternal mortality figures are conventionally based on live births, not total pregnancies, so this denominator does not match the standard definition.

Based on the textbook definition of maternal mortality rate used for this question, the deaths are expressed per 1000 live births.

Let's summarize:

• Maternal Mortality Rate (Indian PSM textbook definition): deaths per 1000 live births.
• Maternal Mortality Ratio (WHO/international): deaths per 100,000 live births.
• This question follows the rate definition, so the answer is 1000 live births.

So maternal mortality here is defined as deaths per 1000 live births.