Factors Associated With Maternal Mortality In Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Maternal mortality is the vital indicator with the greatest disparity between developed and developing countries. The challenging nature of measuring maternal mortality has made it necessary to perform an action-oriented means of gathering information on where, how and why deaths are occurring; what kinds of action are needed and have been taken. A maternal death review is an in-depth investigation of the causes and circumstances surrounding maternal deaths. The objectives of the present study were to examine the factors associated with maternal mortality in Nigeria. The findings showed that majority of people in the North-West region of Nigeria, 336 in number (57.05%), were victims of maternal mortality in Nigeria, while 76 people were victims in the South- south, 19.84%.With regards to the Univariate analysis, based on the place of residence, majority of maternal mo11ality occurred in the rural area and least in the urban area. Based on religion, majority of maternal mortality occurred in Christianity. Based on their age, maternal mortality were more in age group 15- 19; based on their marital status, population of those who were married were more; and based on ethnicity, the Hausas were more prone to maternal mortality when compared to other ethnic groups in Nigeria. With regards to the multivariate analysis, age is not associated with maternal mortality in Nigeria; based on religion, people in Islam are more exposed to maternal mortality in Nigeria. This may result from their low level of education. Based on ethnicity, it showed that there is association between ethnicity and maternal mortality in Nigeria. Based on their occupation, it showed that there is association between maternal mortality and the occupation of respondents in Nigeria; wealth index and parity are associated with maternal mortality of siblings in Nigeria.

KEY WORDS: maternal, mortality, factors and socio- demographic.