Unmet need for essential obstetric services in a rural district in northern Ghana: complications of unsafe abortions remain a major cause of mortality.

AIM: The aim of this study was to review 4 years of hospital data on antenatal services, deliveries and maternal deaths as the baseline evaluation for a programme to improve care. METHODS: Descriptive analyses were made of data extracted from the monthly returns charts and clinical notes on all maternal deaths from January 2001 to December 2003 at the district hospital in the Kassena-Nankana district of rural northern Ghana. RESULTS: The majority (56.6%) of women first attended an antenatal clinic during the second trimester, and about 70% had haemoglobin levels of