Maternal mortality in a Kenyan pastoralist population.
OBJECTIVE
To measure maternal mortality among the Gabbra, a group of nomadic pastoralists living in a remote area of Kenya.


METHODS
As part of a survey of 851 households, information on the number of sisters of respondents who died of pregnancy-related causes was collected and the data were used to calculate maternal mortality statistics using the sisterhood (an indirect) method.


RESULTS
The maternal mortality ratio for this population was 599 deaths per 100,000 births (95% C.I. 424-775). The lifetime risk of dying around childbirth is 1 in 30, and the proportion of ever-married sisters that died under 50 years of age who died from maternal causes is 0.48 (95% C.I. 0.38-0.58).


CONCLUSIONS
The risk of dying of maternal causes is high in this population.
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Department of Anthropology, University College London, UK.
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D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003625:Data Collection; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007630:Kenya / Q000453:epidemiology; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality*; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate