BACKGROUND Investigating severe maternal morbidity (near-miss) is a newly recognised tool that identifies women at highest risk of maternal death and helps allocate resources especially in low income countries. This study aims to i. document the frequency and nature of maternal near-miss at hospital level in Damascus, Capital of Syria, ii. evaluate the level of care at maternal life-saving emer...

BACKGROUND Deaths from maternal causes represent the leading cause of death among women of reproductive age in most developing countries. It is estimated that the highest risk occurs in Africa, with 20% of world births but 40% of the world maternal deaths. The level of maternal mortality is difficult to assess especially in countries without an adequate vital registration system. Indirect techn...

BACKGROUND The major causes of maternal and perinatal deaths are mostly pregnancy related. However, there are several predisposing factors for the increased risk of pregnancy related complications and deaths in developing countries. The objective of this review was to grossly estimate the effect of selected socioeconomic and cultural factors on maternal mortality, stillbirths and neonatal morta...

BACKGROUND Maternal mortality is extremely high in Nigeria. Accurate estimation of maternal mortality is challenging in low-income settings such as Nigeria where vital registration is incomplete. The objective of this study was to estimate the lifetime risk (LTR) of maternal death and the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in Jigawa State, Northern Nigeria using the Sisterhood Method. METHODS Int...

OBJECTIVE To test whether there is an association between abortion legislation and maternal mortality outcomes after controlling for other factors thought to influence maternal health. DESIGN Population-based natural experiment. SETTING AND DATA SOURCES Official maternal mortality data from 32 federal states of Mexico between 2002 and 2011. MAIN OUTCOMES Maternal mortality ratio (MMR), MM...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of a national referral system that aims to reduce maternal mortality rates through improving access to and the quality of emergency obstetric care in rural Mali (sub-Saharan Africa). METHODS A maternity referral system that included basic and comprehensive emergency obstetric care, transportation to obstetric health services and community cost-sharing schemes ...

BACKGROUND Maternal mortality is high in Africa, especially in Kenya where there is evidence of insufficient progress towards Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Five, which is to reduce the global maternal mortality rate by three quarters and provide universal access to reproductive health by 2015. This study aims to identify risk factors associated with maternal mortality in a tertiary level ho...

Objective: The Maternal Mortality Ratio is an important health indicator. We presented the distribution and causes of maternal mortality in Islamic Republic of Iran. Materials and methods: After provision of an electronic Registry system for date entry, a descriptive-retrospective data collection had been performed for all maternal Deaths in March 2009- March 2012. All maternal deaths and their...

INTRODUCTION Ethiopia has achieved the fourth Millennium Development Goal by reducing under 5 mortality. Nevertheless, there are challenges in reducing maternal and neonatal mortality. The aim of this study was to estimate maternal and neonatal mortality and the socio-economic inequalities of these mortalities in rural south-west Ethiopia. METHODS We visited and enumerated all households but ...

Despite global efforts to improve maternal health, many developing countries including Pakistan have failed to achieve the target of a 75% reduction in maternal deaths by 2015. Addressing socioeconomic inequalities in access to emergency obstetric care is crucial for reducing the maternal mortality rate. This study was done to examine the time trends and socioeconomic inequalities in the utiliz...