Why too many mothers are still dying at childbirth in West Africa
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Date
2015
Authors
Afolabi, B.B.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Conversation
Abstract
Maternal mortality rates in West Africa are among the highest in the world. One in every 30 Nigerian mothers die in childbirth compared with one in every 30,000 in Sweden.
This is still much better than it used to be. In Sierra Leone in the early 1990s, more than 2300 women were dying for every 100,000 babies that were born alive. In Nigeria, 1100 women were suffering the same fate. The situation in both
countries has improved dramatically in the past 25 years. Sierra Leone has more than halved the number of maternal deaths to 1100 for every 100,000 births, as has Nigeria – where the rate is 576 women for every 100,000 births. But this is still way out of kilt with developed countries. In Sweden, there are four deaths for every 100,000 births. In the US, there are 28 for every 100,000 births. Since 1990, maternal deaths worldwide have dropped by 45%. This has been partly as a result of countries adopting the eight Millennium Development Goals. As part of meeting the goals, member countries committed to cut maternal mortality by 75% by the end of December 2015.
Description
Scholarly articles
Keywords
Maternal mortality , Childbirth , Nigerian mothers
Citation
Afolabi BB. Why too many mothers are still dying at childbirth in West Africa. The Conversation. 2015.