Nigeria’s maternal mortality rate high, says doctor

By Wale Adepoju

With four years to the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) deadline, Nigeria’s maternal mortality rate (MMR) of 800 per 100,000 live births is one of the highest in the world.

An expert, Dr Alero Roberts, said the alarming health outcome pose a great risk to Nigeria’s chances of meeting the MDGs.

According to her, building capacity into health care workers through training and re-training and provision of infrastructure would help to achieve the MDGs.

She spoke at the launch of the United Nations (UN) Every Woman, Every Child in Africa initiative. The event was organised by the Well-being Foundation, the UN Foundation, Every Woman Every Child and The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Roberts, who is the Director, Public Health, Well-being Foundation, said about 1,000 women die daily from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, adding that 99 per cent of maternal deaths occur in developing countries.

She said adolescents face a higher risk of complications and death as a result of pregnancy than older women.

Roberts said maternal mortality is higher in rural areas and among poorer and less educated communities.

She said skilled care before, during and after childbirth can save the lives of women and newborn babies.

Maternal mortality worldwide dropped by one-third between 1990 and 2008, Roberts added.

Quoting from an African Regional Workshop last December in Nairobi, Kenya, she said: "In sub-Saharan Africa, existing data is limited for reliable maternal mortality estimates. Considering the limitations of available maternal mortality data, it is crucial to support national capacity for improved generation of reliable and valid data to facilitate future estimates of MMR, especially in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa."

Roberts also said the global strategy to reduce MMR is by reducing poverty, improving economic growth and development.

She said the strategy is cost-effective and affirms fundamental human rights, adding that simple strategies are better implemented to achieve desired result.

Roberts said lifetime risk of dying in pregnancy is one in 7,300 in developed countries and one in 75 in developing countries.


"Daily 1,500 women die from pregnancy or childbirth-related complications. Most of these deaths occurred in developing countries, and most were avoidable. The usual suspects could be one or the combination of sepsis, haemorrhage, obstructed labour, eclampsia," she said.



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