KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 27 – After Malaysia recorded its highest maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in decades of 68.2 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2021, the country’s MMR has returned to pre-pandemic levels in the last two years at 26.0 and 25.7 respectively in 2022 and 2023. All MMRs are per 100,000 live births.
According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia’s (DOSM) Statistics on Women Empowerment in Selected Domains 2024 report, Kedah, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, and Sabah had the highest MMRs among Malaysian states in 2023 at 38.4, 37.3 and 36.6 respectively.
The states with the lowest MMRs in 2023 were Terengganu (11.5), Pahang and Selangor (both 16.6), and Sarawak (17.3).
A total of 419,590 births were registered with the Ministry of Health (MOH), and 417,780 deliveries (99.6 per cent) were attended by trained personnel in the government and private sectors in 2023.
In the government sector, 371,420 births (86.4 per cent) occurred in government hospitals, while 1,723 babies (0.5 per cent) were delivered in public health facilities.
In the private sector, 43,616 newborns (12.5 per cent) were delivered in private hospitals, while 1,021 births (0.3 per cent) took place in private maternity homes.
The under-5 mortality rate in the country in 2023 was 8.3 with the female under-5 mortality rate lower at 7.3 than the male rate at 9.1. All rates are per 1,000 live births.
A baby girl born in 2023 on average is expected to live for 76.6 years while for boys, the life expectancy is 71.8 years. Life expectancy for girls and boys increased by 0.2 years and 0.3 years respectively in 2023 as compared to 2022.
Meanwhile, there were 135,344 new recipients of birth control provided by MOH and the National Population and Family Development Board (LPPKN) in 2023.
Ninety-eight per cent of the recipients (132,702) received various forms of contraception from MOH, while the remaining 2,642 recipients (2 per cent) received contraception from LPPKN.
Injection (43.7 per cent) was the most common method of contraception provided by MOH, followed by the pill (39.4 per cent), condom (7.3 per cent), intra-uterine contraceptive device or IUCD (5.2 per cent), and other methods (4.4 per cent).
In contrast, other methods (54.1 per cent) constituted the majority of contraception received at LPPKN clinics, followed by IUCD (17.6 per cent), pill (11.4 per cent), injection (10.8 per cent), and condom (5.5 per cent).
