The broad objective of the BMMS Survey, the first-ever national-level survey of its kind in Bangladesh, was to gather data on maternal health and maternal health services. The survey was specifically aimed at assessing the maternal mortality level, causes of death based upon lay reporting, and women’s perception and experience of prenatal, maternity, and emergency obstetric care in Bangladesh. The data were intended for use in improving maternal health services in the country.

The nationally representative sample of the BMMS survey comprised over 100,000 female respondents in the same number of households distributed across 1,618 clusters—1,315 rural and 267 urban—throughout the country. Mitra and Associates covered 834 clusters, 681 rural and 153 urban, having about 55,000 households.