Abstract:
Maternal mortality is defined by (WHO, 1997) as "death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 clays of termination of pregnancy irrespective of the duration or site of pregnancy from any cause related to or aggravated by pregnancy or its management but not by accidental causes". Maternal mortality is widely recognized as a public health problem which has attracted worId wide 5 attention and reactions. This study addresses the socia-cultural factors in maternal mortality in Njikoka Local Government Area of Ana~llbra State, Nigeria. A total of 1000 women of reproductive age (15-49) were raildomly selected from Abaga~ia and Enugwu-Ukwu. In Abagana three (3) villages were randomly selected while in Enugwu-Ukwu three villages, Adagbe Abomimi, Uru Nebo and . . . . . were used for the study. Questionnaires, were used to generate quantitative data while Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and In-depth Interviews were aph1ied to elicit both quantitative and qualitative information. U.N. Oiloh (1997) h 4 . S ~?.1 1esis,D ept of Su<ln'ok)gyd r Atlthropology, VArN The quantitative data collected were coded, con~puterized and analyzed using frequency distribution, percentages, and cross tabulations of contingency tables. Pie and bar charts were used for illustrations. FINDINGS. Our survey revealed that almost all the respondents (98.8%) were married, Most of the respondents (56%) were petty traders, 30% were school teachers while the rest were farmers. In respect of education status, (38% of the respondents in Abagana and 45% in Enugwu-ukwu attained secondary school education. Post- \ sccolldary education was attained by 34% of the respondents in Enugwu-Ukwu and only 5 % in Abagana The decision to seek health care was mostly detcr~ilined by the husba~lds (34%) and the respondents themselves (24%). By implication both husbands and wives take decisions jointly on issues of seeking health care. The reason given for most decisions being taken by the husband was that they footed the bills. , As regards recognition problelns in pregnancy child birth and delivery, the majority of the respondents recognized bleeding as potentially dangerous. Ninety percent of the respondents accepted that blood transfusion is good for bleeding. B.N. O~zoh (1997) M.Sc. 7?rcsis, Dept of Sociology & Anthropolo~y, VNN Ninety-eight percent will receive blood if necessary. Their preferred choice of blood donor are their husbands as indicated by 72% of the respondents. Cost of care was affordabIc by majority nF the respondents. The estimated cost of Ante-natal care was =N= 100.00 or less. The preferred place of delivery was the Govermlent hospitaIs and rnaternity clinics, the reasons being cheaper cost and better attention. C Transportation was not prohibitive to health care seeking as the majority of the respondents lived within 1-2 krns. And generally walked or used a vehicle to the health facilities within 1 hour The FGD and In-depth Interview information revealed that buried in the sociocultural matrix is the perception that some pregnant women were predestined to die irrespective of the quality of care. These womeri are referred to as "Ogbanje" meaning reincarnated RECOMMENDATIONS:. Based on the survey and FGDsIIn-depth Interview findings, we make the following recornrne11dations:- 1. 'That co~iununity health education be given to dismantle the misconception that some pregnant women are destined to die irrespective of obstetric care. 2. Women should be economically empowered to enable them take more decisions on issues affecting their heatth care. 3. 'I'hat state, local gcrvernmetlts and private hospital/maternity proprietors should continue to prcjvide quality care in Njikoka Local government Area as a way of reducing maternal mortality.
