Community based study on maternal mortality in Jimma town, south western Ethiopia

A cross-sectional five years retrospective community based study was conducted in 1990 to determine maternal mortality rate in Jimma town, south-western Ethiopia. The maternal mortality rate was found to be 4.02/1000 live births. The results of the study revealed that major causes of maternal mortality in this area are sepsis, eclampsia and abortion. Out of all deaths, more than 50% occurred after delivery of a child. Besides, the study indicates poor trend in following antenatal care and family planning among maternal mortality cases. Recommendations are made for detailed wide scale study to generate policy issues on the subject.