This article has evidence gaps. Read the research notes before relying on its conclusions.
Research cutoff: · Updated:A connected sequence of care
Maternal and child health brings together services that are often discussed separately: support before pregnancy, antenatal care during pregnancy, childbirth services, newborn care and continuing childhood prevention. WHO’s global position paper on midwifery models emphasizes continuity, respectful care and collaboration across professions. This is an international framework for understanding service design, rather than evidence that a particular model operates throughout Iran. s4
UNICEF’s Iran programme describes work with the Ministry of Health and Medical Education and affiliated medical universities. Priorities include strengthening primary care in disadvantaged areas, improving newborn-care capacity, supporting breastfeeding and maintaining the vaccine cold chain, the temperature-controlled system needed to preserve vaccines. These are programme activities and objectives; their description alone does not establish their effects on mortality. s1
[s1] [s4]Looking beyond the national average
UNICEF identifies substantial differences in newborn mortality between provinces, with particular concerns in economically disadvantaged areas and places with high concentrations of refugees. Its programme names Hormozgan, Kerman, North Khorasan, and Sistan and Baluchestan as priority provinces. A national average therefore cannot describe every family’s circumstances or every facility’s capacity. s1
The same programme includes assessment of neonatal intensive care units, specialized hospital services for newborns requiring intensive treatment. This illustrates why access involves both community services and referral facilities. The programme’s stated ambitions should remain distinct from verified achievements; this page does not treat its mortality targets as completed results. s1
[s1]Iran, national · gregorian
Data, units and methodology
National under-five mortality estimates displayed in UNICEF’s country-profile trend table, expressed per 1,000 live births. Values are source estimates, not author calculations or registered annual death counts. The requested default window is 2012–2026; the inspected table ends in 2024. The displayed release vintage and its availability by 2026-10-26 were not established. Uncertainty intervals and the full country-specific estimation documentation were not retrieved.
| Reporting period | Under-five mortality rate (Deaths before age five per 1,000 live births) |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 17.5 estimated[s2] |
| 2013 | 16.8 estimated[s2] |
| 2014 | 16.1 estimated[s2] |
| 2015 | 15.5 estimated[s2] |
| 2016 | 14.9 estimated[s2] |
| 2017 | 14.4 estimated[s2] |
| 2018 | 13.9 estimated[s2] |
| 2019 | 13.4 estimated[s2] |
| 2020 | 13 estimated[s2] |
| 2021 | 12.6 estimated[s2] |
| 2022 | 12.1 estimated[s2] |
| 2023 | 11.7 estimated[s2] |
| 2024 | 11.3 estimated[s2] |
| 2025 | Not available missing — No estimate for this year was displayed in the inspected table.[s2] |
| 2026 | Not available missing — No estimate was displayed; the calendar year was incomplete at the editorial cutoff.[s2] |
The live series was inspected on 2026-10-28, after the requested editorial cutoff; its pre-cutoff release vintage requires verification.
Uncertainty intervals and detailed country-specific estimation methods were not retrieved.
National estimates conceal subnational differences and do not establish programme causality.
The annual series is not a longitudinal follow-up of a single birth cohort.
What the evidence can establish
UNICEF’s country data display a declining under-five mortality series. These are estimates rather than a simple annual count of registered deaths. The retrieved values are reproduced below, but the live page’s release date and availability at the requested editorial cutoff were not established. The dataset therefore requires a dated release check before publication. Missing later observations are not assumed to be zero. s2
Research also examines the organization of maternity care. A quasi-experimental study in Ahvaz compared team midwifery care with routine care among women giving birth for the first time. It reported more vaginal births and exclusive breastfeeding in the team-care group, while finding no statistically significant difference in postpartum haemorrhage or induction of labour. Its limited settings and nonrandomized design constrain generalization. It supports further investigation of continuity of care, rather than a claim that one local study proves a nationwide effect. s3
Understanding progress requires reading national trends alongside inequalities and service-level research. None of these sources alone provides a complete account of maternal safety, newborn care and childhood health across Iran. s1s2s3
[s1] [s2] [s3]Sources & research notes
- [s1] Mother and Baby HealthUNICEF Iran · The issue faced; The actions taken; The partners engaged · Accessed 2026-10-28
- [s2] Iran (Islamic Republic of): Demographics, Health and Infant MortalityUNICEF Data · Trends in under-five mortality rate in Iran (Islamic Republic of), annual table · Accessed 2026-10-28
- [s3] Effect of continuity of team midwifery care on maternal and neonatal outcomes: a quasi-experimental study in IranScientific Reports · Abstract; study setting and design · Accessed 2026-10-28
- [s4] Transitioning to midwifery models of care: global position paperWorld Health Organization · Publication overview · Accessed 2026-10-28
limitations
- Research access occurred on 2026-10-28; availability of the live statistical release at the 2026-10-26 cutoff was not established.
- UNICEF programme descriptions establish stated priorities and activities, not independently demonstrated effects.
- The Ahvaz study does not establish national effects or provide randomized evidence.
- The WHO position paper supplies international context rather than an evaluation of Iran.
unverified items
- Verify the child-mortality release date and reproduce the series from a dated release available by 2026-10-26.
- Inspect country-specific mortality estimation methods and uncertainty intervals before publishing the chart.
data gaps
- Comparable annual maternal-mortality, neonatal-mortality and provincial inequality series were not fully inspected.
- No observations for 2025 or 2026 were displayed in the retrieved under-five mortality table.
- Achievement of UNICEF’s stated newborn-mortality targets was not verified.
coverage period
Under-five mortality estimates for 2012–2024, a maternity-care study published in 2024, and an undated programme page inspected on 2026-10-28.