Maternal deaths where do they occur? A survey of health facilities in Abia state, south east Nigeria

Abstract

<p class="a">Ascertaining the burden of maternal mortality is crucial to the improvement of maternal health for any nation. It provides basis to evolve comprehensive strategies to enhance mothers’ health.</p> <p class="a">A facility-based survey was carried out in Abia State southeast Nigeria in 2003 to determine the magnitude of maternal deaths and where they occur in the State. Health facilities in the 17 local government areas of the State were enlisted. Data on births and maternal deaths in the preceding 12 months were obtained.</p> A total of 25,081 births and 43 maternal deaths were recorded for the study period giving maternal mortality rate of 171/100,000. The public facilities had higher value of maternal mortality rate (856.8/100,000) than the private (177.2/100,000). Similarly, the Comprehensive Essential Obstetric Care facilities had lower maternal mortality rate than the Non-Essential Obstetric Care. Poor documentation may be one of the reasons for the low maternal mortality rate in this study. Enforcing proper documentation, reporting and investigation of maternal deaths is hereby recommended.<p> </p

Maternal Mortality in the Main Referral Hospital in Angola, 2010-2014: Understanding the Context for Maternal Deaths Amidst Poor Documentation

“…When compared with hospital based studies that were conducted between 2010-2015 from other regions of Africa, a high level of MMR was also reported from Nigeria, West Africa, ranging from 866 to 1,791 per 100, 0000 live births in the Southern[ 28 , 29 ] and Northern parts of Nigeria respectively. [ 30 , 31 ] However, lower figures of between 124 and 492 per 100,000 live births was reported East African countries - Kenya[ 32 , 33 ] and Tanzania[ 34 , 35 ] respectively.…”