What do mothers and newborns in the postnatal period die from?
The main purpose of providing optimal postnatal care is to avert both maternal and neonatal death, as well as long-term complications. To be effective you therefore need to know the major causes of death in the postnatal period, so that you can provide quality and timely postnatal care at the domestic and health facility level.
Knowing what mothers and newborns are dying from is important in order to identify the high impact interventions that address all the major causes of death during the postnatal period. The table below shows the percentage of maternal deaths from the major causes for women in Africa.
Causes of maternal death in Africa.
| Causes of maternal death | Percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Postpartum haemorrhage | 34 |
| Localised infection or disseminated infection (sepsis) | 16 |
| Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (pre-eclampsia, eclampsia) | 9 |
| HIV/AIDS | 6.2 |
| Obstructed labour | 4 |
| Abortion | 4 |
| Anaemia | 4 |
| All other causes of death | 30 |
Why is it really important for you to understand the main factors causing mothers and babies to die in the postnatal period?
Think for a moment about the main causes of maternal and neonatal death. Which ones do you expect to see most in your role as a health professional?
You probably said postpartum haemorrhage for mothers and some form of infection for babies and also for mothers. You might also have picked out eclampsia (mothers) and neonatal asphyxia (babies).