8/13/2019 2006 FPS NSO Press Release
1/3
Number: 2007-18
Date Released: March 13, 2007
Maternal Mortality Slightly Declined,
MDG Target May Not Be Achievable(Preliminary Results from the
2006 Family Planning Survey)
For every 100,000 live births in the Philippines, 162 women die
during pregnancy and childbirthor shortly after childbirth,
according to the 2006 Family Planning Survey (FPS). This ratio
ofmaternal deaths to live births, estimated from interviews with
about 45,000 women in April 2006,is lower than the last available
estimate of 172 deaths from the 1998 National Demographic andHealth
Survey (NDHS). Both estimates of the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR)
were made byasking women about the survivorship of their sisters
and whether any deaths of sisters werematernity-related. Both
estimates refer to 7-year period prior to the year the survey
wasconducted. The latest estimate refers to the period 1999-2006.
The MMR is defined as thenumber of women who die from any cause
related to or aggravated by pregnancy or its
management (excluding accidental or incidental causes) during
pregnancy and childbirth orwithin 42 days of termination of
pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of thepregnancy,
per 100,000 live births.
Estimates of MMR from the 1993 National Demographic Survey, the
1998 NDHS and the 2006FPS imply decreasing maternal mortality in
the Philippines: 209 per 100,000 live births for 1987-1993 to 172
per 100,000 for 1991-1997, to 162 per 100,000 for 1999-2006.
Because maternaldeaths are relatively rare, MMR estimates from
sample surveys are subject to large samplingerrors and differences
in estimates are not always statistically significant. The apparent
declinefrom 172 to 162 maternal deaths tends to reflect
improvements in maternal health in the countrybut the difference is
not statistically significant.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDG), agreed in 2000 by
leaders of 189 countries,including the Philippines, call to reduce
by three-quarters the number of maternal deathsglobally between
1990 and 2015. For the Philippines, and using the 1993 NDS MMR as
baseestimate, the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births
in 2015 should be equal to 53.The 2006 FPS MMR is a decrease of
only 22 percent from the base estimate, meaning maternalhealth
program implementers need to redouble efforts to achieve the
desired MDG target onmaternal mortality.
The 2006 FPS also provides estimates of infant mortality rates
(IMR) and under-five mortalityrates (U-5MR). Estimates of IMR, the
probability (expressed as rate per 1,000 live births) of achild
born in a specified year dying before reaching the age of one year,
if subjected to currentage-specific mortality rates, showed 24
deaths per 1,000 for the 5 years preceding the survey.
Among the regions, Zamboanga Peninsula exhibited the highest IMR
(38 deaths per 1,000 livebirths) while Northern Mindanao had the
lowest IMR with 16 deaths per 1,000 live births. Theestimate of
U-5MR, the probability (expressed as rate per 1,000 live births) of
a child born in aspecified year dying before reaching the age of
five years, showed 32 deaths per 1,000 for the5 years preceding the
survey.
The 2006 FPS is the tenth in a series of family planning surveys
conducted nationwide by theNSO since 1995. Funding assistance for
the 2006 FPS was provided by the United StatesAgency for
International Development (USAID), Australian Agency for
International Development(AusAID), The David and Lucille Packard
Foundation and the United Nations Children's Fund(UNICEF).
Technical assistance is from the International Programs Center of
the United StatesCensus Bureau.
