BACKGROUND Obstetric fistula is a worldwide problem that is devastating for women in developing countries. The cardinal cause of obstetric fistula is prolonged obstructed labour and delay in seeking emergency obstetric care. Awareness about obstetric fistula is still low in developing countries. The objective was to assess the awareness about risk factors of obstetric fistulae in rural communit...

Most obstetric ultrasound scanning is carried out by radiographers, who have professional constraints that forbid them to disclose the result of any investigation to any patient or to hold themselves as professionally qualified to diagnose. A nationwide survey was carried out to explore the paramedical aspects of obstetric ultrasound services and determine how radiographers reconcile their prof...

Obstetric hysterectomy is one marker of obstetric morbidity. It is considered one of the riskiest and dramatic operations in modern obstetric, where the uterus is removed at the time of caesarean section, following caesarean section immediately after vaginal delivery or in the period of puerperium in order to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity [1]. Emergency obstetric hysterectomy is a lif...

BACKGROUND Zambia has a high maternal mortality ratio, 398/100,000 live births. Few pregnant women access emergency obstetric care services to handle complications at childbirth. We aimed to assess the deficit in life-saving obstetric services in the rural and urban areas of Kapiri Mposhi district. METHOD A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2011 as part of the 'Response to Accountable p...

OBJECTIVE This study was undertaken to identify the main causes of maternal mortality within a developed country to refocus and enhance the delivery of obstetric services. STUDY DESIGN From January 1, 1983, to December 31, 2000, 309 maternal deaths occurring in Bavaria were documented and classified in a prospective observational study. The data sources were the civil registry, confidential r...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of a national referral system that aims to reduce maternal mortality rates through improving access to and the quality of emergency obstetric care in rural Mali (sub-Saharan Africa). METHODS A maternity referral system that included basic and comprehensive emergency obstetric care, transportation to obstetric health services and community cost-sharing schemes ...

BACKGROUND Improving maternal health by reducing maternal mortality constitutes the fifth Millennium Development Goal and represents a key public health challenge in the United Republic of Tanzania. In response to the need to evaluate and monitor safe motherhood interventions, this study aims at assessing the coverage of obstetric care according to the Unmet Obstetric Need (UON) concept by obta...