Extent of effective coverage

Social protection for maternity: Key policy trends and statistics 8 Figure 4. Antenatal care coverage by region, latest available year percentage of live births Notes: Antenatal care is measured by the percentage of women aged 15 –49 with a live birth in a given time period who received antenatal care provided by skilled health personnel doctors, nurses or midwives at least once during pregnancy. Global average weighted by total population UN, World Population Prospects, 2012 Revision; value for 2012. Source: ILO 2014a, based on WHO Global Health Observatory accessed Dec. 2013, various years. Link: http:www.social-protection.orggimigessRessourceDownload.action?ressource.ressourceId=42481 . Health coverage is a key factor in facilitating access to maternal health care figure 5. Access to ante-natal care is high where health protection is available to the majority of the population, but lower where a large proportion of the population is not protected. Figure 5. Access to antenatal care by health coverage, latest available year Notes: Access to antenatal care is measured by the percentage of women aged 15 –49 with a live birth in a given time period who received antenatal care provided by skilled health personnel doctors, nurses, or midwives at least once during pregnancy. Global average weighted by total population UN, World Population Prospects, 2012 Revision; value for 2012. Sources: ILO 2014a, based on WHO Global Health Observatory, various years; national sources. Link: http:www.social-protection.orggimigessRessourceDownload.action?ressource.ressourceId=37053 . 9 Social protection for maternity: Key policy trends and statistics Another significant vector of inequality in access to maternity health protection is household wealth. In both low- and middle-income countries, only a small fraction of women in the lowest wealth quintile have access to maternal health protection, as compared to women in the highest wealth quintile see figure 6. Such inequalities have detrimental effects on both maternal and child health, with often harmful long-term consequences for both individuals and societies. Figure 6. Inequities in access to maternal health services by wealth quintile and national income level, latest available year Notes: Inequities in access to maternal health services are measured by births attended by skilled health personnel as a percentage of total live births in the same period. Antenatal coverage is measured by the percentage of women aged 15 –49 with a live birth in a given time period who received antenatal care four or more times. Due to data limitations, it is not possible to determine the type of provider for each visit. Detailed information and definitions are available in the Excel file see link below. Global average weighted by total population UN, World Population Prospects, 2012 Revision; value for 2012. Global averages should be considered with caution owing to the small sample size. Source: ILO 2014a, based on WHO Global Health Observatory, various years. Link: http:www.social-protection.orggimigessRessourceDownload.action?ressource.ressourceId=42882 . Figure 7 illustrates the importance of providing quality maternal care services by showing the inverse correlation across countries between the percentage of births supervised by skilled birth attendants and the maternal mortality ratio. Moreover, the available evidence suggests that income security also contributes to the well- being of pregnant women, new mothers and their children. Countries that have a higher level of coverage for maternity cash benefits also tend to achieve better results with respect to maternal mortality ratios. These results call for a comprehensive approach to maternity protection, combining maternal health care and income security, and also occupational safety and health measures, as stipulated in ILO maternity protection standards.