CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0     BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Maternal mortality, also known a maternal death, continues to be the major cause of death among women of reproductive age in many countries and remains a serious public health issue especially in developing countries (WHO 2007). As explained in Shah and Say (2007), a maternal death is defined as the death of a women while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes. Globally, the estimated number of maternal deaths worldwide in 2005 was 536,000 up from 529,000 in 2000. According to the WHO factsheet (2008) 1500 women die from pregnancy or pregnancy related complication every day. Most of these deaths occur in developing countries and most are avoidable of all the health statistics compiled by the WHO, the largest discrepancy between developed and developing countries occurred in maternal mortality. UJAH et al. (2005) noted that while 25 percent females of reproductive age lived in developed countries. The contributed only 1 percent of maternal deaths worldwide.
Nigeria has been mentioned by the United Nations as having one of the highest rates the top medical causes of maternal mortality in the world. Reducing high maternal mortality ration is not just a technical and medical challenge but largely a political one which requires the attention and commitment of political leaders. Mothers are the key to the provision of health services for children, she has been neglected and exploited by health service, traditionally to serve infants. As Nigeria is till passing through various stages of development many women still deliver at home without attending antenatal clinics, Kaduna State being part of Nigeria also many cases maternal mortality rate. This study is aimed at finding mortality rate occur due to obstetric hemorrhage. Other include infections following childbirth, unsafe abortion, eclampsia and obstructed labor. Experts agree that these causes are largely treatable and preventable. The root causes of high maternal mortality in Nigeria include weak development planning, poverty, illiteracy and low utilization of formal maternal health care services.
In recent years the international safe motherhood conference convened in Kenya raised global awareness of the devastating maternal mortality rates in developing nations and formally established the safe motherhood initiative. The goal was to reduce maternal mortality 50% unity the plight of the pregnant woman. Initially, donors, United Nation (UN) agencies and government focused of on 2 strategies to reduced maternal mortality: increasing antenatal care and training for traditional birth attendants.
Improving the health care system overall is undoubtedly a critical component to reducing maternal mortality and improving the general health of a nation. The current implementation of free health care to pregnant women and under five children seem to be yielding some positive results but Nigeria’s Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) however, is yet to reach the reduction rates as recommended.