Maternal Moralty in Sub-Saharan Africa: Facts and Figures - Literature review Example

However, a number of countries in this region have significantly improved their maternal mortality levels since 1990 (World Health Organization, 2012). The Africa’s health sector still remains underdeveloped and therefore many of the pregnant African women have a little or no access to healthcare settings. Studies point to the fact that roughly 55% of the sub-Saharan African women deliver at home without even a trained attendant. Majority of such deliveries ends up in maternal death if there are pregnancy related complications.

In addition, antenatal care coverage is considered to be a crucial factor influencing the maternal mortality rate. In majority regions of the sub-Saharan Africa, the level of antenatal care coverage lies between 50% and 80%. In 2005, the level of maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa was estimated at 898 deaths per 100,000 live births (Encyclopedia of Nations, 2011). While considering 20 countries having highest maternal mortality ratios, it seems that 19 of the countries are in sub-Saharan Africa.

As per reports, severe haemorrhage is identified to be the major cause of maternal deaths in Africa whereas it accounts for only 13% in developed countries (ScienceDaily, 2010). . Media perspective of maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa Many authors like O’Hara (2011) holds the view that extreme political unrest in sub-Saharan Africa leads to poverty and corruption which in turn greatly contribute to higher risk of maternal deaths. As Bates et al (2008) observe, severe haemorrhage is the most potential cause of maternal deaths.

The authors conducted a sequence of studies to discover the relationship between maternal mortality and ineffective blood transfusion services in sub-Saharan Africa. From the study, the researchers concluded that lack of emergency blood transfusion is a major but an under-researched cause of maternal deaths in sub-Saharan Africa (ibid). Evidently, a range of direct and indirect factors lead to maternal deaths in this region. According to an opinion, “the major direct causes are haemorrhage (34%), infection (10%), hypertensive disorders (9%), and obstructed labour (4%)” whereas the major indirect causes indicate pre-existing diseases or non-pregnancy related complications (Alvarez et al).

The authors add that indirect causes account for nearly 20% of the maternal deaths. It is argued that insufficient information flow along with improper recording systems notably worsen the issue of maternal deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. Alvarez et al (2009) also opine that lack of necessary infrastructural facilities like water and sanitation and lack of primary education play a significant role in increasing the mortality rate in this region. They continue that since the region still remains to be economically underdeveloped, it does not have enough funds to spend on education and healthcare.

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