Background & Aims: Maternal mortality is a tragedy which threatens human life. It is an indicator of womenʼs health and development of society as well. Therefore, prevention of maternal deaths is one of the main goals in many countries, including Iran. The aim of this study was to review and analyze the recorded data on maternal mortality in the country, in order to improve the management of ma...

BACKGROUND HIV infection is a major contributor to maternal mortality in resource-limited settings. The Drug Resource Enhancement Against AIDS and Malnutrition Programme has been promoting HAART use during pregnancy and postpartum for Prevention-of-mother-to-child-HIV transmission (PMTCT) irrespective of maternal CD4 cell counts since 2002. METHODS Records for all HIV+ pregnancies followed in...

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...

The declining trend in the maternal mortality rate (MMR) from the 1930s to the late 1990s resulted from several strategies implemented within and outside the health sector. Expansion of both field-based and institutional services through the past decades contributed to improved geographical access and provision of 'free' services improved economic access. These led to increased use of antenatal...

This paper discusses the problems of defining and measuring late-fetal mortality (stillbirths). It uses evidence from 11 developed countries to trace long-term trends in fetal mortality. Issues associated with varying definitions and registration practices are identified, as well as the range of possible rates, key turning points and recent convergence. The implications for developing countries...

Maternal mortality refers to the death of a woman who dies during pregnancy or within six weeks after delivery. A number of factors contribute to the high maternal mortality ratio around the globe, particularly, in underdeveloped countries. Pakistan has the highest mortality ratio (260 per 100,000 live births) in the region and is one of the developing countries which have committed to decrease...

BACKGROUND The recently published WHO guidelines on applications of ICD-10 to deaths during pregnancy, childbirth, and the puerperium (ICD-MM) aimed at enabling a comprehensive framework for international comparison of maternal deaths, which includes maternal suicides as a direct cause of maternal deaths. At present, most developing countries do not include suicide as a maternal death. METHOD...