WHEP Scholar Shu Zhao
Drexel University College of Medicine, Class of 2023

The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is used as the major metric to quantify and monitor maternal mortality globally. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines the maternal mortality ratio as “the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, [where] maternal death is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy” for a specific period. This, however, does not include deaths resulting from accidental or incidental causes. A late maternal death is defined as the death of a woman from direct or indirect obstetric causes, more than 42 days but less than one year after the termination of pregnancy.

Read Shu's full paper.