Koch, Elard, John Thorp, Miguel Bravo, Sebastián Gatica, Camila Romero, Hernán Aguilera, and Ivonne Ahlers. “Women’s Education Level, Maternal Health Facilities, Abortion Legislation and Maternal Deaths: A Natural Experiment in Chile from 1957 to 2007.” PLoS ONE 7, no. 5 (May 2012).  doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0036613.

URL: www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0036613

ABSTRACT:

The aim of this study was to assess the main factors related to maternal mortality reduction in large time series available in Chile in context of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Koch et al analyzed historical trends in the maternal mortality rate (MMR) in Chile in order to identify factors that contributed to increased maternal survival in the country over 50 years. The authors found that for every increased year of maternal education there was a corresponding reduction in the rate of maternal mortality.  Other factors, such as the total fertility rate, delivery by skilled birth attendants, and access to clean water and sanitation facilities were also modulated by maternal education. Together these results strongly point to the importance of education as long term intervention for improving maternal survival. Significantly, the authors found that the MMR continued to decline after passage of legislation prohibiting therapeutic abortion.