Maternal mortality in jos nigeria: a facility based prospective review

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objectives The study was designed to determine the maternal mortality ratio at the Jos University teaching Hospital and ascertain the causes of maternal death. Methods This was a prospective descriptive analysis of all maternal deaths at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), Jos north central Nigeria between 1st June, 2006 and 31st May, 2008. Results: During the study period, there were 56 maternal deaths and 4443 live births at the Jos University Teaching Hospital giving a maternal mortality ratio of 1260/100,000 live births. Of these, there were 15 deaths among 81 unbooked patients giving a maternal mortality ratio of 18518/ 100,000 live births. Twenty-five deaths occurred among those who booked elsewhere (2969/100,000 live births) and 9 deaths among women who booked in JUTH with a maternal mortality ratio of 256/100,000 live births. Thirty nine (69.6%) of the deaths were direct maternal deaths while 17 (30.4%) were indirect maternal deaths. The leading causes of direct maternal deaths were eclampsia (28.6%), haemorrhage (23.1%), unsafe abortion (8.9%) and pulmonary embolism (5.4%). Of the indirect causes of maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS accounted for 14.3% while anaemia, anaesthetic complications and thyrotoxicosis accounted for 8.9%, 3.6% and 1.8% respectively. Conclusion Maternal mortality ratio is still high in JUTH. It was found to be lower in those that had tertiary education and in booked patients. HIV/AIDS appears to be emerging as one of the leading causes of maternal mortality in this study.