There is an urgent need for improved reproductive health services in Burma. At 360 per 100,000 live births the estimated maternal mortality ratio is lower than for a number of other countries in the region but there is widespread belief that this number is not a true representation of the maternal deaths in the country. Contraceptive use is also low, with large regional variations; women in those areas most affected by conflict are less likely to use a modern contraceptive than those living in the central plains region. In Arakan (Rakhine) State, where many people are displaced from their homes or are returnees from refugee camps in Bangladesh, the contraceptive prevalence rate among married women is particularly low.