Maternal mortality in a Kenyan pastoralist population.

OBJECTIVE: To measure maternal mortality among the Gabbra, a group of nomadic pastoralists living in a remote area of Kenya. METHOD: As part of a survey of 851 households, information on the number of sisters of respondents who died of pregnancy-related causes was collected and the data were used to calculate maternal mortality statistics using the sisterhood (an indirect) method. RESULTS: The maternal mortality ratio for this population was 599 deaths per 100,000 births (95% C.I. 424-775). The lifetime risk of dying around childbirth is 1 in 30, and the proportion of ever-married sisters that died under 50 years of age who died from maternal causes is 0.48 (95% C.I. 0.38-0.58). CONCLUSION: The risk of dying of maternal causes is high in this population.