Ideally, civil registration systems with good attribution of cause of death provide accurate data on the level of maternal mortality and the causes of maternal deaths. In countries with incomplete civil registration systems, it is difficult to measure accurately the levels of maternal mortality. First, it is challenging to identify maternal deaths precisely, as the deaths of women of reproductive age might not be recorded at all. Second, even if such deaths were recorded, the pregnancy status or cause of death may not have been known and the deaths would therefore not have been reported as maternal deaths. Third, in most developingcountry settings where medical certification of.
