A SURVEY OF MATERNAL MORTALITIES IN ABIA STATE, SOUTHEAST NIGERIA

Abstract

Ascertaining the burden of maternal mortality is cruicial to the improvement of maternal health for any ... they occur. 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, A total of 25,081 births and 43 maternal deaths were recorded for the study period giving MMR of  171/100,000. The public facilities had higher values of MMR (856.8/100,000) than the private (177.2/100,000). Similarly, the comprehensive Essential Obstetric Care facilities (EOC) had lower MMR than the Non-EOC. Poor documentation may be one of the reasons for the low MMR in this study. Enforcing proper documentation, reporting and investigation of maternal deaths is hereby recommended.