Antenatal and Postnatal Care Services and Maternal Mortality in Nigeria

Nigeria has had a high maternal mortality rate per 100,000 live births since the 1990s. A possible contributing factor is that many Nigerian women are not aware of prenatal and postpartum pregnancy care-related services. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between pregnancy-related care (access to antenatal services, maternal health education, and knowledge of prenatal and postpartum care) and maternal mortality in Nigeria. The theory of planned behavior forms the basis of this study. A cross-sectional quantitative study design was used to determine whether maternal mortality is influenced by pregnancy-related care. Secondary data collected by the Demographic and Health Surveys Program in 2018 were analyzed. The data set contains individual records on maternal mortality and related contributing risk factors for adverse health outcomes in Nigerian women aged 15-54. A nominal logistic regression was conducted to examine the association between antenatal care (number of antenatal visits, number of postnatal visits, checkup before discharge, and knowledge and use of contraception) and maternal mortality. The results indicate that antenatal care was significantly related to maternal mortality. Study findings support that increasing maternal health and knowledge can significantly reduce maternal mortality in developing countries. By improving women’s access to pregnancy care, policymakers may reduce mortality rates in Nigeria resulting in positive social change