Aetiology of maternal mortality using verbal autopsy at Sokoto, North-Western Nigeria

Background: Maternal mortality in developing countries is higher than that in developed countries. There are few published articles on the factors associated with maternal deaths in northern Nigeria.Objectives: The objective of this study was to identify the medical causes and factors associated with maternal mortality in Sokoto, northern Nigeria.Method: A verbal autopsy questionnaire was used to interview close relatives of women within the reproductive age group who had died of pregnancy-related complications in theSokoto metropolis during the preceding two years. A multistage sampling method using simple random sampling at each step was used to select areas of study within the Sokoto metropolis. Data analysis was carried out using a statistical package for social sciences (SPSS),version 19, and the Spearman correlation was used to test association. Significance level was set at 0.05.Results: The major causes of death were haemorrhage (48.3%), eclampsia (19%) and prolonged labour (13.8%). The association between maternal mortality and the absence of antenatal booking was significant (p < 0.001); the association between maternal mortality andthe ‘three delays’ was also significant (p = 0.013). The association between maternal mortality and educational status and occupation was, however, not significant (p = 0.687 and p = 0.427respectively).Conclusion: The medical causes of maternal mortality identified in this study were similar to those of the hospital-based studies in the area. In addition, an association between maternal deaths and the ‘three delays’ and the absence of antenatal booking was found. There is a need for public education efforts to address these factors in order to reduce maternal mortality in the study area.