Socio-demographic determinants of maternal deaths in Ghana

Lailah Alidu, University of Cape Coast

Several initiatives have been put in place to reduce maternal mortality in Ghana but maternal mortality rates have shown no significant improvements. The study sought to determine the socio demographic factors that influence maternal death. The data for this study was drawn from the 2007 Ghana Maternal Health Survey. A total of 609 maternal deaths that occurred within 2002-2007 within the ages of 12-49 were analysed using STATA version eight. The logistic regression model was used for analyses. The independent variables used were age, marital status, level of education, place of residence. Women who had a higher likelihood of maternal death included married women/women living with a partner, women of 20 to 24 age groups as well as women who lived in rural communities. The Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Services should develop different interventions to address specific maternal death related issues in order to improve maternal health.