| maternal mortality | Maternal deaths resulting from complications of pregnancy and childbirth in a given population. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| maternal mortality rate | The number of maternal deaths related to childbearing divided by the number of live births (or by the number of live births + foetal deaths) in that year. The maternal mortality rate in the united states in 1993 (and 1994) was 0.1 per 1,000 live births, or 1 mother dying per 10,000 live births. (12 Dec 1998) |
| maternal mRNA | <molecular biology> Messenger RNA found in oocytes and early embryos that is derived from the maternal genome during oogenesis. See: masked messenger RNA. (18 Nov 1997) |
| maternal placenta | <anatomy> The part of the placenta derived from the uterine tissue. See: placenta. Synonym: maternal placenta, placenta uterina. (05 Mar 2000) |
| maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein | A plasma protein, alpha-fetoprotein (afp) is normally produced by the foetus. The level of afp in the blood serum of pregnant women provides a screening test for open neural tube defects (anencephaly and spina bifida) and for down syndrome (and other chromosome abnormalities). The maternal serum afp (msafp) tends to be unusally high with open neural tube defects and unsually low with down syndrome. (12 Dec 1998) |
| maternal welfare | Organised efforts by communities or organizations to improve the health and well-being of the mother. (12 Dec 1998) |
| maternal-child health centres | Facilities which administer the delivery of health care services to mothers and children. (12 Dec 1998) |
| maternal-child nursing | The nursing specialty that deals with the care of women throughout their pregnancy and childbirth and the care of their newborn children. (12 Dec 1998) |
| maternal-foetal exchange | Exchange of substances between the maternal blood and the foetal blood through the placental barrier. It excludes microbial or viral transmission. (12 Dec 1998) |