Maternal mortality refers to deaths during pregnancy up to 42 days postpartum. Major causes are hemorrhage, infections, eclampsia, and unsafe abortions. Most deaths occur during or within 24 hours of delivery. Safe motherhood aims to make pregnancy and childbirth safe by ensuring access to family planning, skilled birth attendants, and emergency obstetric care. Challenges include poverty, illiteracy, and cultural practices. The global Safe Motherhood Initiative launched in 1987 aimed to halve maternal mortality by 2000 through its eight pillars focusing on antenatal care, delivery, postnatal care and family planning.

1. MATERNAL MORTALITY AND SAFE
MOTHERHOOD
By E.M Lectures(BSc.)

2. Maternal mortality;
• Maternal deaths occuring during pregnancy
and within 42 days of delivery.

3. MAJOR CAUSES OF MATERNAL DEATHS
Severe bleeding/hemmorrhage (25%)
Infections (15%)
Eclampsia (12%)
Obstructed labour (8%)
Unsafe abortion (13%)
Other direct causes (8%)
Indirect causes (20%)

4. DIRECT CAUSES OF OF MATERNAL
DEATHS
Hemmorrage (41%)
Peuperal sepsis (21%)
Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy
(15%)
Unsafe abortion(6%)
Obstructed or prolonged labour (3%)

5. INDIRECT CAUSES OF OF MATERNAL
DEATHS
HIV (40%)
Anemia (28%)
Cardiovascular disorders (18%)
Malaria (6%)
Others (8%).

6. TIME WHEN MATERNAL DEATHS
OCCUR
 25% during pregnancy.
 50% during the first 24 Hrs after
delivery.
 20% between days 2 and 7 after
delivery.
 5% between weeks 2 and 3 after
delivery.

7. SAFE MOTHERHOOD
• It’s an entity that entails that women receive
the care they need ,and which should make
them safe and healthy throughout their
pregnancy,during child birth and in the period
thereafter.
• It’s a woman’s ability to have a safe and
healthy pregnancy and delivery (WHO).

8. THE THREE(3) PRONGED STRATEGY TO
ACCOMPLISHMENT OF SAFE
MOTHERHOOD
ALL women have access to contraception
to avoid unintended pregnancies.
All pregnant women have access to skilled
care at the time of birth.
All those with complications have timely
access to quality emergency obstetric
care.

9. WAYS TO ACHIEVE SAFE
MOTHERHOOD
Skilled attendance at all births.
Access to quality emergency
obstetrical care.
Access to quality reproductive
healthcare,including family
planning and safe post-abortion
care.

10. CHALLENGES FACING WOMEN IN
MATTERS SAFE MOTHERHOOD
Poverty.
Illiteracy.
Some retrogressive culture.
Armed conflict etc,which has contributed
to early onset of sexual activity,early
marriage and forced marriages,diseases
like HIV ,low contraceptive use and high
fertility rates.

11. SAFE MOTHERHOOD INITIATIVE
• In 1987,WHO,United Nations Population
Fund (UNFPA),the World bank and other
International agencies launched the global
safe motherhood initiative in Nairobi.
• It was a global strategy aimed at reducing
maternal mortality by half by the year 2000.
• A more specific objective was to develop
strategies that enable women to have more
control over their lives.

12. SAFE MOTHERHOOD INITIATIVE
CONTINUED…
• It was declared that in order to reduce
maternal mortality,each woman would
be enabled to;
a) Choose whether she will become
pregnant.
b) Receive skilled care during pregnancy.
c) To receive prevention and treatment of
complications.

13. THE EIGHT(8) PILLARS OF SAFE
MOTHERHOOD INITIATIVE
PROGRAMME
• Family planning.
• Focused Antenatal care.
• Clean and safe deliveries.
• Essential obstetric care.
• Post abortal care.
• Targetted postpartum care.

14. THE EIGHT(8) PILLARS OF SAFE
MOTHERHOOD INITIATIVE
PROGRAMME CONTINUED..
• Essential newborn care.
• Prevention of mother to child
transmission(PMTCT).

15. • NB;In 2009,the pillars of safe motherhood were
reviced from eight(8) to six(6) whereby HIV PMTCT
services were integrated into all the pillars of
Maternal Newborn Health(MNH), and clean and
safe delivery became part of Essential Obstetric
care.
-All these have been captured in the Maternal
Newborn Health Model(2009).

16. THE SIX(6) PILLARS OF MATERNAL AND
NEWBORN HEALTH
• Pre-conceptual care and family planning
• Focused antenatal care.
• Essential obstetric care.
• Essential newborn care.
• Targetted post-partum care.
• Post-abortion care.

17. BENEFITS OF SAFE MOTHERHOOD
INITIATIVE
• Reduction of maternal and children
deaths.
• Healthy communities.
• Economic growth.

18. THE END
THANK YOU!