PAA 2014 Extended Abstract - It’s complicated: Planning for Pregnancy in Indonesia

Indonesia has made impressive gains on many demographic indicators, but maternal mortality remains stubbornly high, and in fact rose from some 228 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2007 to an estimated 359 per 100,000 live births in 2012 (DHS 2013). On the one hand, the lack of progress is surprising given Indonesia’s success on dimensions of human capital such as infant survival and educational attainment and its efforts to address maternal mortality through improving recognition of risks and access to health services. On the other hand, some of the complications that kill women during childbirth can only be treated in facilities with the capacity for surgery and blood transfusions, which remain few and far between in many parts of Indonesia.