The research shows that in 2007, there were 421 maternal deaths per 673,441 births. This means that according to the international method of measuring maternal deaths per 100,000 births, the maternal death rate in Thailand in 2007 was 62.51, which is about six times higher than the official figure from the Public Health Ministry.
The research found that in 2011, although the rate decreased to 36.69 deaths per 100,000 births, the figure is still about three times higher than the official figure of 8.9.
“The Health Ministry did not include many cases of maternal death in the figures,” said Worawan. “Maternal death is a big issue and when it happens the physicians are under immense pressure and normally have to investigate and hold briefings on the case. Therefore, the real figure might be even higher.”
The report pointed out that remote areas of Thailand outside the metropolitan areas of Bangkok and the industrialized eastern seaboard are where the highest maternal death rates occur. From the data collected from 2007-2011, the three restive Deep South provinces, plus the adjacent province of Songkhla had a maternal death rate of 69.79 per 100,000 births, three times higher than Bangkok.
The maternal death rate in the lower Northern region and Isan, Thailand’s Northeast, is also about two times higher than that of Bangkok and the East, the research shows.