Epidemiology of Maternal Mortality in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

A three year maternal mortality survey in Saudi Arabia has identified the various epidemiologic risk factors for maternal deaths. Unbooked, uneducated and economically underprivileged females were at increased risk of maternal death, especially >para 7 females, who were found to be at increased risk of maternal death, particularly deaths due to hemorrhage, pulmonary embolism and uterine rupture. In Saudi Arabia, there are contradictory risk factors for maternal death; e.g. low female literacy rate, early marriage and unregulated high fertility, and affluence which has brought about improvements in all walks of life including health services. Increasing the number of booked patients, especially among the elderly grand multipara, improving the quality of emergency obstetric services and achieving a higher female education rate are likely to bring the present maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of 18 per 100,000 births down to a minimum. The MMR obtained in this study compared favorably with those of the oil-producing Gulf countries and the developing and developed countries of the world. Ann Saudi Med 1995;15(4):A Al-Meshari, SK Chattopadhyay, B Younes, C Anokute, Epidemiology of Maternal Mortality in Saudi Arabia. 1995; 15(4): 317-322During the past half century there has been a dramatic fall in maternal mortality rates, especially in developed countries, so much so that standards of obstetric care can no longer be assessed in terms of mortality rates. The picture is different in the developing world and the disparity in deaths between developed and developing countries is larger for maternal mortality than for any other global health problem. While 25 % of females of reproductive age live in developed countries, they contribute to only 1 % of maternal deaths. The developing countries, on the other hand, accommodate 75% of females of reproductive age and contribute to 99% of maternal deaths, the widest disparity in all statistics of public health.1 Research supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other agencies has provided data on the magnitude of the problem of maternal death. There are over 500,000 deaths each year to females in pregnancy and childbirth in the world and that amounts to one woman every minute of every day. 2Few countries have complete and accurate data on maternal mortality and the national statistics in most of the developing countries are highly inaccurate. In Saudi Arabia, there is a paucity of data on maternal deaths and the triennial study on maternal mortality in Saudi Arabia 3 was the first of its kind with the objective of forming a national data base. The cultural and sociodemographic patterns of Saudi Arabia have contradictory epidemiologic risk factors for maternal deaths. On one hand, economic affluence has brought a rapid expansion and improvement in nutritional standards, free public sector health services, public sanitation and an impressive network of communication which are comparable to those in the developed countries. On the other hand, social customs of early marria...

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