Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Maternal Mortality--determinants”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

A framework for analyzing the determinants of maternal mortality.

Hundreds of thousands of women in developing countries die each year from complications of pregnancy, attempted abortion, and childbirth. This article presents a comprehensive and integrated framework for analyzing the cultural, social, economic, behavioral, and biological factors that influence maternal mortality. The development of a comprehensive framework was carried out by reviewing the widely accepted frameworks that have been developed for fertility and child survival, and by reviewing the existing literature on maternal mortality, including the results of research studies and accounts of intervention programs. The principal result of this exercise is the framework itself. One of the main conclusions is that all determinants of maternal mortality (and, hence, all efforts to reduce maternal mortality) must operate through a sequence of only three intermediate outcomes. These efforts must either (1) reduce the likelihood that a woman will become pregnant; (2) reduce the likelihood that a pregnant woman will experience a serious complication of pregnancy or childbirth; or (3) improve the outcomes for women with complications. Several types of interventions are most likely to have substantial and immediate effects on maternal mortality, including family planning programs to prevent pregnancies, safe abortion services to reduce the incidence of complications, and improvements in labor and delivery services to increase the survival of women who do experience complications.

Family Planning Services↗

Incidence and causes of maternal mortality in five Kampala hospitals, 1980-1986.

This report presents results of a descriptive study to estimate the mortality rate, identify the type and the causes of maternal deaths. The study was conducted in 1987 in Kampala hospitals for a period covering seven years from 1st January 1980 to 31st December, 1986. The non abortion maternal mortality rate (NAMMR) was 2.65 per 1000 deliveries while the abortion related maternal mortality rate (ARMMR) was 3.58 per 1000 abortions. There was a statistically significant increase in NAMMR while the increase in ARMMR was almost significant over the seven year period. Of all maternal deaths, 80 per cent were non abortion while 20 per cent were abortion related. The commonest immediate causes of death, in order of importance, were sepsis, haemorrhage, ruptured uterus, anaesthesia and anaemia. The commonest patient management factors which contributed to death, in order of importance, were lack of blood for transfusion, lack of drugs and intravenous fluids, theatre problems and doctor related factors. We feel that a lot happens to the pregnant mother before she finally reaches a health unit for delivery and that there is a great need to improve on the community's gynaecological and obstetrical services as well as ambulance and emergency services. We also feel that maternal mortality in developing countries could be reduced if the health workers were imaginative in respect to each patient, tried not to operate as though they were working in a developed country, and created relevant solutions for the local problems.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Abortion, Spontaneous↗

Maternal mortality in the Thyolo District of southern Malawi.

The Sisterhood Method, a community-based survey technique, was used to estimate the Life Time Risk of a woman dying a maternal death in Southern Malawi. With this figure, the maternal mortality ratio for that area was calculated to be 409 deaths per 100,000 live births. The 4124 adults interviewed reported 150 maternal deaths in sisters. An in-depth questionnaire was then used to determine that 56% of these deaths occurred outside a health facility, largely due to lack of transportation or poor access to fixed health care facilities; 25% died from excessive hemorrhage; 20% from obstructed labour; 18% from abortion; 13% from sepsis; while eclampsia accounted for only 4% of the maternal deaths. This field experience with the Sisterhood Method technique combined with an in-depth questionnaire for determining causes of maternal deaths has provided useful information in a simple and cost-effective manner for use in planning intervention strategies designed to decrease maternal mortality.

Adolescent↗

Birth spacing and child mortality in a Caribbean population.

Ten independent variables were used to predict death before the first birthday for 4411 births that took place from 1878 to 1976 to 978 women of native ancestry on the island of St. Barthélemy. Significant predictors of death include the death of the mother within a year, the birth year, multiple birth, whether the preceding child also died before 1 year of age, and whether the next child was conceived before the index child was 1 year old. Unlike most prior studies, birth-spacing variables were only weakly related to death in the first year. The relative absence of contraceptive techniques to control birth spacing in the study population and the use of vital records rather than survey data distinguish this project from others and may account at least partly for the unusual findings.

Birth Intervals↗

Proximate determinants of child mortality in Liberia.

The study looks at the effects of maternal sociodemographic characteristics and the quality of the environment on child survival through two intervening variables, breast-feeding and prenatal care. A linear structural equation modelling approach was used to examine infant and child survival based on a weighted sample of 5180 Liberian children aged 0-5 years. The findings confirm previous studies, but also reveal complex relationships of the role of education, maternal age and breast-feeding in enhancing child survival.

Breast Feeding↗

Determinants of the evolution of the health situation of the population.

The objective of the present project is to evaluate the relative importance of different governmental social programmes for health development during the 1970's. National statistics available for the whole period and disaggregated to district level were analyzed with particular regard to three indicators of infant health status when the infant mortality rate was used, increased access to secondary care and improved socio-economic status were related to improvement in infant health status. When the percentage of neonatal deaths or the percentage of deceased live births per woman was used, neither the socio-economic improvement nor the assess to secondary did explain the improvement. Moreover, the primary health programme did not seem to be of importance in explaining the changes in the three indicators of infant health status. A second phase of the project, currently ongoing, is aimed at the evaluation of other factors such as the degree of efficiency of some of the health programmes. This study is based on directly collected information, quantitative as well as qualitative. Structured interviews have been used together with anthropological information from in-depth interviews with individuals and groups. The preliminary results of this second phase indicate that the contradictions observed in the first phase might be due to shortcomings in the national registers. In one of the study areas the coverage of PHC developed earlier than indicated by the official information. In other areas it was found that different obstacles as access problems, lack of health centers, socio-economical problems and lack of cultural knowledge reduced the effectiveness and impact of the primary health programmes.

Costa Rica↗

Parental education and child mortality in Burundi.

This paper examines the relationship between parental education and child mortality in Burundi using data collected in the 1987 Demographic and Health Survey. Proportional hazards models are estimated to examine this relationship, while holding constant other known child mortality determinants. Parental education proves to be a key factor in explaining differences in child mortality, the effect of maternal education being particularly strong compared to paternal education.

Birth Order↗

Socioeconomic, demographic and environmental determinants of infant mortality in Nepal.

The Nepal Fertility and Family Planning Survey of 1986 demonstrated that demographic variables, previous birth interval and survival of preceding child, still predominated as determinants of infant mortality, particularly in rural areas of Nepal. However, in urban Nepal, where the level of socioeconomic development is higher, an environmental variable, along with previous birth interval and survival of preceding child emerges as important in determining infant mortality. Separate policy measures for child survival prospects in rural and urban Nepal are suggested.

Adolescent↗

Birth spacing and infant mortality: evidence for eighteenth and nineteenth century German villages.

Data from an historical population in which fertility control was minimal and modern health services were mostly unavailable are used to show that there appears to have been a strong association between previous birth interval length and infant mortality, especially when the previous child survived. Although only imperfect proxies for breast-feeding practices and other potentially confounding factors are available for this population, the results suggest that the association between previous interval length and infant mortality in this population is not solely, or primarily, a function of differences in breast-feeding behaviour or socioeconomic status. Other factors, e.g. maternal depletion or sibling competition, are more likely to explain the observed association.

Birth Intervals↗

Women's status and infant mortality in rural Colombia.

This paper investigates the effects of maternal demographic characteristics and social and economic statuses on infant mortality in rural Colombia. Demographic characteristics include the age of the mother, parity and length of preceding interbirth interval, and sex of infant. Measures of women's status at the time of birth include education, wage labor and occupation, economic stratum, place of residence, and whether the mother is living with a husband. The life history data for the study (involving 4,928 births) were collected in 1986 from a representative sample of two cohorts of women resident in rural central Colombia. Overall differentials in infant mortality by measures of women's status are small and are in good part associated with the differing reproductive behaviors of the women and variations in breastfeeding practices. The sharp declines in infant mortality recorded in rural Colombia in recent years appear less related to improved status of women than to reductions in fertility that enhance infant survivorship and to public health interventions shared by all segments of the population.

Adult↗

Levels and determinants of early neonatal mortality in Natal, northeastern Brazil: results of a surveillance and case-control study.

An institution-based surveillance and nested case-control study was conducted in Natal, Northeastern Brazil to estimate the level and determinants of early neonatal mortality. The early neonatal mortality rate was 25.5 per 1000 live-birth, 75% of early neonatal deaths were premature low birthweight infants, and the mortality rates were 591 and 318 per 1000 respectively, for preterm small for gestational age (PT-SGA) and preterm appropriate for gestational age (PT-AGA) infants. Mortality was 50 per 1000 for term low birthweight, and 8.6 for term normal birthweight AGA infants. In addition to prematurity and low birthweight, the main risk factors associated with early neonatal death were maternal smoking, complications during pregnancy or intrapartum, and inadequate antenatal care. The associations were weaker for prepregnancy factors such as single marital status or low maternal body weight, and no significant associations were observed with socioeconomic status. These findings suggest that in this population, efforts to reduce early neonatal death should focus on improved maternal care and the prevention of prematurity.

Brazil↗

Perinatal mortality in Shanghai: 1986-1987.

The incidence of, and risk factors associated with, perinatal mortality in Shanghai during 1986-1987 are examined using data from a multi-site study conducted in 29 hospitals. The overall perinatal mortality rate was 14.96 per 1000 births. The mortality rates of antepartum fetal death, intrapartum fetal death and early neonatal death were 5.97, 2.06 and 6.94 per 1000 births, respectively. The perinatal mortality rates increased in winter and late spring. Male neonates were 1.5 times more likely to die than females. Low birthweight and preterm infants had 15 to 80 times higher risk of perinatal death. Higher parity, multiple pregnancy, and maternal age greater than or equal to 35 years were the risk factors for perinatal mortality. Asphyxia, cord complications, and congenital malformations were found to be the major causes of perinatal deaths. Comparison of mortality rates between Shanghai and the US suggests that the shortage of advanced technology in perinatal care (e.g. neonatal intensive care units) is a major obstacle to the reduction of perinatal mortality in Shanghai.

Adult↗

Neonatal mortality determinants in Jamaica.

The Jamaican Perinatal Survey included among its objectives the quantification of the island's neonatal mortality rate, the identification of the causes of these deaths (Wigglesworth Classification), and the determination of characteristics of both mother and infant that are associated with increased mortality. A death questionnaire was completed on babies who were born between September 1986 and August 1987, and who died in the neonatal period throughout the island of Jamaica. The neonatal mortality rate was 17.9 per 1000 live births with early and late rates of 16.0 and 1.9 per 1000, respectively. The major contributors to neonatal demise were prematurity and intrapartum asphyxia (74 per cent). Twins had a seven-fold greater risk of dying than singletons. Babies born to mothers under 15 years had a four-fold greater risk of dying than those of mothers 25-29 years. The neonatal mortality rate for Jamaica is high, with room for improvement, particularly in the prevention of perinatal asphyxia.

Asphyxia Neonatorum↗

Determinants of maternal mortality in the developing world.

Maternal mortality is the culmination of a series of detrimental events in a woman's life, pregnancy being the last one. The underlying pathology is the lack of education, sanitation, accessible health care, as well as poor nutrition and poverty. These affect women during pregnancy and childbirth when they are more vulnerable. This 10-year review of literature from the developing world focuses on, and discusses the determinants of maternal mortality. Methods of reducing maternal mortality through policy addressing health care needs are touched on.

Cultural Characteristics↗

Maternal mortality in Ile-Ife, Nigeria: a study of risk factors.

The objective of this study was to determine which background factors predispose women to maternal mortality at the Obafemi Awolowo University Hospital in Nigeria. The study examined 35 cases of maternal death occurring in the hospital during the period 1 October 1989 to 30 April 1991. The control group comprised 35 women who were admitted to the hospital with similar complications during the same period, but who survived. Both cases and controls were investigated for their sociodemographic characteristics, their use of prenatal care, and the incidence of delay in clinical management. The results showed that the maternal deaths involved women who were younger and of poorer socioeconomic status than the women in the control group. Both groups showed an equal lack of prenatal care. However, a higher incidence of delayed treatment was found in the management of the cases of maternal deaths. Maternal mortality in the study population can be reduced through improved transportation and institutional management, and, on a long-term basis, through the adoption of measures to improve the socioeconomic status of women.

Adolescent↗

[Family planning and maternal and child care in present-day society].

The evidence is provided of a close relationship between the features of women's reproductive behaviour, their health status and the health of their children: the lack of rational planning child-birth results in increasing maternal and infant mortality rates, prematurity, birth of unwanted children. The use of abortions as one of the basic means of birth control produces a negative effect, i.e. they are a frequent cause of sterility, gynaecological diseases, complicated future pregnancies and deliveries. There is a description of the priority tasks and conditions for the effective introduction of family planning into the everyday life--the necessity of taking into account sociopsychological, regional aspects of birth control within a family, demographic situation at the local level; identification of women populations which are in need of family planning activities.

Abortion, Induced↗