Demographic

The results in Table 15.3 indicate that the rate ofmortality associated with pregnancy and childbearing is0.8 maternal deaths per 1,000 woman-years of exposure.The estimated age-specific mortality rates increase withage to a peak in the 35-39 age group. However, the agespecificpattern should be interpreted with caution becauseof the small number of events—only 48 maternal deathsfor women of all ages. Maternal deaths represent 6percent of all deaths to women age 15-49 during theperiod 0-6 years preceding the survey (48 maternaldeaths/841 female deaths). The low proportion ofmaternal deaths could be due to an increase in nonmaternaldeaths (e.g., AIDS-related deaths) or tounderreporting of maternal deaths in the survey.The maternal mortality rate can be converted to amaternal mortality ratio by dividing the rate by the generalfertility rate during the period 0-6 years prior to the 2006-07 SDHS. The maternal mortality ratio is expressed per100,000 live births in order to emphasise the obstetricalrisk of pregnancy and childbearing. The estimate of thematernal mortality ratio for the period prior to the surveyis 589 deaths per 100,000 live births, i.e., for every 1,000births in Swaziland, there are just under six maternal deaths.Table 15.3 Maternal mortalityMaternal mortality rates for the period 0-6 years precedingthe survey, based on the survivorship of sisters ofsurvey respondents, Swaziland 2006-07AgeMaternaldeathsExposure(years)Mortalityrates(1,000)15-19 2 11,972 0.1320-24 9 12,335 0.7525-29 9 10,650 0.8330-34 11 8,644 1.2635-39 11 6,383 1.7740-44 6 4,074 1.4245-49 0 2,399 0.00Total 15-49 48 56,458 0.8General fertility rate 1 0.131Maternal mortality ratio 2 5891Expressed per 1,000 woman-years of exposure2Expressed per 100,000 live births; calculated asmaternal mortality rate divided by the general fertilityratea Rates are age-standardised.It should be noted that maternal mortality is a difficult indicator to measure because of the largesample sizes required to calculate an accurate estimate. (The fact that the maternal mortality ratio isexpressed per 100,000 live births demonstrates that it is a relatively rare event.) As a result, the maternalmortality estimates are subject to large sampling errors.242 | Adult and Maternal Mortality