Declining maternal mortality ratio in Uganda: priority interventions to achieve the Millennium Development Goal.
Int J Gynaecol Obstet
; 98(3): 285-90, 2007 Sep.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-17617415
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
We conducted a survey to determine availability of emergency obstetric care (EmOC) and to provide data for advocating for improved maternal and newborn health in Uganda.METHODS:
The survey, covering 54 districts and 553 health facilities, assessed availability of EmOC signal functions, documented maternal deaths and the related causes. Three levels of health facilities were covered.FINDINGS:
Few health units had running water; electricity or a functional operating theater. Yet having these items had a protective effect on maternal deaths as follows theater (OR 0.56, P<0.0001); electricity (OR 0.39, P<0.0001); laboratory (OR 0.71, P<0.0001) and staffing levels (midwives) OR 0.20, P<0.0001. The availability of midwives had the highest protective effect on maternal deaths, reducing the case fatality rate by 80%. Further, most (97.2%) health facilities expected to offer basic EmOC, were not doing so. This is the likely explanation for the high health facility-based maternal death rate of 671/100,000 live births in Uganda.CONCLUSION:
Addressing health system issues, especially human resources, and increasingaccess to EmOC could reduce maternal mortality in Uganda and enable the country to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG).
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Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Maternal Mortality
/
Community Health Centers
/
Obstetric Labor Complications
/
Maternal Health Services
Type of study:
Prognostic_studies
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Pregnancy
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
Language:
En
Journal:
Int J Gynaecol Obstet
Year:
2007
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Uganda