Maternal mortality in Panama from 1998 to 2022

The findings of this study confirmed that there were substantially more direct obstetric causes (61.2%) than indirect obstetric causes (23.9%), contributory causes (13.6%), or unknown/undetermined causes (1.4%) of maternal mortality, despite being highly preventable. Although Panama is right on track to fulfill the target of 70 MMR by 2030, these results highlight the lack of health care access due to the absence of obstetrician-gynecologists per 100 000 population in indigenous comarcas, where 30.8% of the maternal mortalities occur. Furthermore, the health system in Panama is not immune to pandemics and crises. From 1998 to 2022, there were 5 years when the MMR in Panama exceeded 70: 2001, 2002, 2006, 2011, and 2020. These findings also underscore the dichotomy between statistics and health policy. While the trendline reliability was insignificant (<i>R</i> ² = 0.1), the MMR satisfies requirements for the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Future studies should consider factors related to indirect obstetrics and contributory causes of deaths, health care access, COVID-19, cesarean section and natural birth, age, economic income, prenatal and postpartum care, as well as the quality of private and public health facilities in the Americas.