versão impressa ISSN 0042-9686 Bull World Health Organ vol.79
no.7 Genebra Jul. 2001 Every death counts: measurement of
maternal mortality via a census ABSTRACT: Methods for measuring
maternal mortality at national and subnational levels in the
developing world lag far behind the demand for estimates. We
evaluated use of the national population census as a means of
measuring maternal mortality by assessing data from five
countries (Benin, Islamic Republic of Iran, Lao People' s
Democratic Republic, Madagascar, and Zimbabwe) which identified
maternal deaths in their censuses. Standard demographic methods
were used to evaluate the completeness of reporting of adult
female deaths and births in the year prior to the census. The
results from these exercises were used to adjust the data. In
four countries, the numbers of adult female deaths needed to be
increased and three countries required upward adjustment of the
numbers of recent births. The number of maternal deaths was
increased by the same factor as that use