title: Guinea-Bissau: maternal mortality assessment.
abstract: With more than 40% of all female deaths attributable to pregnancy, delivery, and the puerperium period, the study established a maternal mortality ratio of 914 deaths per 100,000 live births. The principal risk factors for dying from pregnancy-related causes are: no attendance at antenatal care, too great a distance between the home and the nearest hospital facility, home delivery, belonging to specific ethnic/religious groups, and delivery assistance from family members and TBAs. The health policy implications to improve this situation are: increased coverage with appropriate services, increased numbers of rural midwives, in-service training of existing staff in maternity issues and problems, culture-specific educational approaches using the existing value system, educational campaigns to discourage harmful practices and behaviour, continued educational efforts to upgrade the knowledge of TBAs, and a culturally sensitive integration of TBAs into the government programmes.
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization, Guinea-Bissau.
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Oosterbaan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000740:Anemia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006169:Guinea-Bissau / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000453:epidemiology; D008428:Maternal Mortality; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000401:mortality; D011247:Pregnancy; D011250:Pregnancy Complications, Hematologic / Q000453:epidemiology; D015597:Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic / Q000453:epidemiology; D018566:Pregnancy, High-Risk; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors