Abstract: Background: Maternal mortality, though preventable has continued to increase in many nations of the world, especially in low and medium income countries as a result of low socio-economic development.
Objective: To assess the yearly trend and the impact of socio-demographic characteristics on maternal mortality in Federal Medical Centre, Asaba.
Methods: A retrospective study of all cases of maternal mortality that occurred at Federal Medical Centre, Asaba from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2021 was conducted. Data collected with the aid of data entry forms designed for this purpose were analyzed using SPSS version 26.
Results: There were 6,247 deliveries with 44 maternal deaths giving a ratio of 704 per 100,000 deliveries. Forty one (95.3%) of those who died were unbooked and 51.2% had below secondary level of education. About 39.5% were 35 years of age and above. Over seventy per cents of maternal mortality cases were among multiparous women while 11.6% were grand multipara. Over half of maternal death occurred postpartum. Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy was the commonest direct cause of death (46.5%), followed by obstetric haemorrhage (27.9%), and others. Low socioeconomic status and unbooked status were some of the identifiable risk factors of maternal mortality.
Conclusion: The study showed maternal mortality ratio of 704 per 100,000 live births, major causes were hypertensive disorder of pregnancy and obstetrics haemorrhage. A major determinant was unbooked and low socioeconomic status.
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