Case Study: Maternal Health

Making the world a healthier place for mothers: Understanding the burden through data and measuring future impacts of interventions and economic impact.  ​

Having a baby should be safe throughout the world. But too many women still die during pregnancy and childbirth, and those who survive may experience painful and long-lasting complications. Maternal deaths and complications are avoidable. What can we do to prevent them? Which factors are contributing to the most maternal deaths? Merck for Mothers looked to IHME Client Services to help better understand and communicate the impact that maternal disorders can have on women around the world, and what can be done to improve outcomes.  

​The challenge
Merck for Mothers recognized that solely focusing on maternal deaths, as some data sources do, misses a whole range of problems that women face after pregnancy, sometimes for many years. The health impact from maternal causes persists for some women for the duration of their lives. This fact alone highlights the opportunity to have an enduring and widespread impact by improving the conditions and care surrounding pregnancy, childbirth, and post-natal care. The decisions made now will echo across decades, borders, and generations. With a focus on healthy mothers, communities have a better chance of raising healthy children, who then typically stay in school longer and have other positive outcomes – an upward spiral. 
Ongoing research aims to help better understand maternal disorders and the modifiable risk factors contributing to them, as well as ways to improve their management and financial feasibility. Knowing more about how to prevent pregnancy-related deaths and disability will ultimately make the world a healthier place 

https://maternalhealthatlas.org/

IHME Client Services role
Partnering with IHME Client Services, Merck for Mother's:​

• Furthered the research on risk factors contributing to maternal health globally, 
  
• developed a Platform, the Maternal Health Atlas, to help communicate and understand the burden of maternal death and disability around the world, 
• modeled the impact of access to heat-stable carbetocin (HSC) in reducing deaths and disability due to postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), the biggest threat to mother's health, and 
• contributed to the development of a cost-effectiveness model assessing how access to HSC could save lives and reduce healthcare costs in low- and lower-middle-income countries.  

Results
​
The Maternal Health Atlas was developed to help communicate trends and key drivers of maternal health, allowing users to explore threats to health, the effects of age and income, the progress being made in specific countries, and more. Visit the site at maternalhealthatlas.org.

Modeled Scenarios Infographic (left): A summary of the scenarios for preventing post partum hemorrhage in low and lower-middle-income countries and the potential impact on reducing deaths due to postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). More detail about the modeled impact of heat-stable carbetocin can be viewed here.

Report on the trends and opportunities for action in maternal health. The report aims to draw attention to maternal disorders and the significant impact they can. Highlighting opportunity to have an enduring and widespread impact by improving the conditions and care surrounding pregnancy, childbirth, and post-natal care. The decisions made now will echo across decades, borders, and generations. 

Insights from cost-effectiveness models: The findings from IHME Client Services’ impact scenarios informed cost-effectiveness models, which assessed the impact of heat-stable carbetocin (HSC), demonstrated that reducing maternal deaths from PPH is not only achievable but also financially sustainable. Preventive measures like HSC can lead to long-term healthcare savings by reducing the need for emergency interventions and other costly treatments. 

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