Short Article
Resom Berhe and Adane Nigusie
Abstract
Maternal mortality is a sensitive indicator of maternal health and well-being in all countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined maternal mortality as "the death of a pregnant woman or within 42 days of the termination of pregnancy, regardless of the duration and place of pregnancy, for any cause linked or aggravated by pregnancy or its management but no accidental and fortuitous causes ”. Globally, an estimated 10.7 million people died in the 25 years between 1990 and 2015 due to maternal causes. Although substantial progress has been made in reducing maternal mortality, the World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that in 2015, 303,000 women died from potentially preventable problems during pregnancy or childbirth in the world [2]. In comparison to other African countries, Ethiopia has one of the highest maternal mortality rates. Progress in reducing maternal mortality has stalled since 2005, when the country successfully reduced the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) to 676 per 100,000 births in 2010/11, from 871 in 2000/01. In Ethiopia, the percentage of births attended by skilled birth attendants was only 20.4% in 2011/12, far below skilled birth by 74% and 44% respectively for urban and rural communities in the region from southern and eastern Africa.