Determinants of Maternal Mortality in Edo South Senatorial District, Nigeria

Abstract

Nigeria, like most sub-Saharan African countries, has a high number of maternal deaths during pregnancy, delivery, and post-partum. Each time a woman gets pregnant in Nigeria, she is faced with the probability of dying due to maternal issues. This paper seeks to determine the factors influencing the incidence of maternal mortality associated with four levels (individual, household, medical, and community) among pregnant women in the Southern Senatorial District of Edo State, Nigeria. The respondents comprised of adult women of reproductive age (15–49 years). STATA version 13 was used to conduct multinomial logistic regression for data analysis. The data analysis was carried out using 1546 households in 29 communities in the district. The regression model depicts that maternal mortality outcome is higher in the rural region of the study area. Education, parity, mode of delivery, and history of pregnancy complications are factors influencing maternal mortality in the study area. Rural areas record higher maternal mortality than urban areas. This study recommends that spatially identified factors in the district affecting the best maternal outcome should be addressed, especially in grassroots government intervention programs and policies for overall improvement in living and health standards of the people in the district.