OBJECTIVE To assess the maternal morbidity and mortality and fetal outcome with hepatitis E (HEV) in pregnancy. STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi, from May 2008 to April 2010. METHODOLOGY Thirty patients admitted at Gynae Ward with serologically proven HEV in pregnancy were included in the study. All these patients were foll...

Financial crisis can be a threat to health, and International Monetary Fund programmes have been associated with impeded efforts to control child and maternal mortality. In 2008, Greece entered the most serious socioeconomic downturn in the country’s modern history, which has steadily worsened over the following years. Vlachadis and Kornarou reported that an increase in stillbirths in Greece wa...

Background Maternal mortality is a major public health issue in developing countries due to its shocking magnitude and lower declining pattern. With appropriate strategy and intensive implementation programs, some countries have made remarkable progress, however in developing countries where 99% of maternal death is occurring; little or no progress has been made. Identifying determinants and de...

BACKGROUND For more than three decades, the main health indicators of the rural population of Iran have been gathered using a 'vital horoscope'. In this study, we use information derived from the vital horoscope to assess trends over time and geographic patterns of inequality in these health indicators. METHODS Nine main health indicators were derived from official annual reports of the Minis...

Over the last few decades, total fertility rates, child morbidity, and child mortality rates have declined in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Among the most striking trends observed are the rapid rate of urbanization and the often remarkably large gaps in fertility between rural and urban areas. Although a large literature has highlighted the importance of migration and urbanization within co...

WHO African region has got the highest maternal mortality rate compared to the other five regions. Maternal mortality is hypothesized to have significantly negative effect on the gross domestic product (GDP). The objective of the current study was to estimate the loss in GDP attributable to maternal mortality in the WHO African Region. The burden of maternal mortality on GDP was estimated using...

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...

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...

BACKGROUND Every day approximately 1500 women worldwide die due to pregnancy or childbirth related complications. Maternal health care use is critical in reducing maternal mortality worldwide. Cameroon has one of the highest maternal mortality rates worldwide, but there is little knowledge about maternal health care use in Cameroon, particularly in more remote areas. The purpose of this study w...