Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Maternal mortality in South Africa: an update from the 2007 Community Survey

  • Published:
Journal of Population Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The 2007 Community Survey conducted in South Africa included questions on maternal deaths in the previous 12 months (pregnancy-related deaths). The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) was estimated at 702 per 100,000 live births, some 30% more than at the 2001 census. This high level occurred despite a low proportion of maternal deaths (4.3%) among deaths of women aged 15–49 years, which is even lower than the proportion of time spent in the maternal risk period (7.6%). The high level of MMR was due to the astonishingly high level of adult mortality, which increased by 46% since 2001. The main reasons for these excessive levels were HIV/AIDS and external causes of death (accidents and violence). Differentials in MMR were very marked, and similar to those found in 2001 with respect to urban residence, race, province, education, income, and wealth. Provincial levels of MMR correlated primarily with HIV/AIDS prevalence. Maternal mortality defined as ‘pregnancy-related death’ appears no longer as a proper indicator of ‘safe motherhood’ in this situation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Boerma, J. T. (1988). The magnitude of the maternal mortality problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Social Science and Medicine, 24(6), 551–558.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chopra, M. (2008). Prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV in Africa. Operational research to reduce post-natal transmission and infant mortality. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. In Digital comprehensive summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the faculty of medicine. Uppsala.

  • Dickson-Tetteh, K., & Rees, H. (1999). Efforts to reduce abortion-related mortality in South Africa. In M. Berer & T. K. S. Ravindran (Eds.), Safe Motherhood Initiatives: Critical Issues. Reproductive Health Matters (pp. 190–197). London: Blackwell Sciences Limited.

  • Dorrington, R., Moultrie, T. A., & Timaeus, I. M. (2005). Estimation of mortality using the South African census 2001. Care Monograph No 11, University of Cape Town.

  • Fauveau, V., Koenig, M. A., Chakraborty, J., & Chowdhury, A. I. (1988). Causes of maternal mortality in rural Bangladesh: 1976–1985. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 66(5), 643–651.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fawcus, S. R., de Groot, H. A., & Isaacs, S. (2005). A 50-year audit of maternal mortality in the Peninsula maternal and neonatal service, Cape Town (1953–2002). BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 112, 1257–1263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fortney, J. A., Susanti, I., Gadalla, S., Seleh, S., Rogers, S. M., & Potts, M. (1986). Reproductive mortality in two developing countries. American Journal of Public Health, 76(2), 134–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fottrell, E., Byass, P., Ouedraogo, T. W., et al. (2007). Revealing the burden of maternal mortality: A probabilistic model for determining pregnancy-related causes of death from verbal autopsies. Population Health Metrics, 5(1), 1–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garenne, M., & Fontaine, O. (1988). Assessing probable causes of deaths using a standardized questionnaire. A study in rural Senegal. In J. Vallin, S. D’Souza & A. Palloni (Eds.), Measurement and analysis of mortality. (Reprinted as a Public Health Classic, in Bulletin WHO 2006, 84(3), 248–253.

  • Garenne, M., & Hohmann, S. (2003). A wealth index to screen high risk families: Application to Morocco. Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition, 21(3), 235–242.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garenne, M., McCaa, R., & Nacro, K. (2008). Maternal mortality in South Africa, 2001: From demographic census to epidemiological investigation. Population Health Metrics, 6(4), 1–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graham, W. J. (2002). Now or never: The case for measuring maternal mortality. Lancet, 359(9307), 701–704.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, K., El-Arifeen, S., Koenig, M., Al-Sabir, A., Jamil, K., & Raggers, H. (2006). How should we measure maternal mortality in the developing world? A comparison of household deaths and sibling history approaches. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 84, 173–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hohmann, S., & Garenne, M. (2009). Absolute versus relative measures of poverty: Application for DHS African surveys. Paper presented at the IUSSP conference, Marrakech, Sep.

  • Khan, M., Pillay, T., Moodley, J. M., & Connolly, C. A. (2001). Maternal mortality associated with tuberculosis-HIV-1 co-infection in Durban South Africa. AIDS, 15(14), 1857–1963.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khlat, M., & Ronsmans, C. (2000). Deaths attributable to childbearing in Matlab, Bangladesh: Indirect causes of maternal mortality questioned. American Journal of Epidemiology, 151(3), 300–3030.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koenig, M. A., Fauveau, V., Chowdhury, A. I., Chakraborty, J., & Khan, M. A. (1988). Maternal mortality in Matlab, Bangladesh: 1976–1985. Studies in Family Planning, 19(2), 69–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minnesota Population Center. (2009). Integrated public use microdata series—international: Version 5.0. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moodley, J. (2003). Saving mothers: 1999–2001. South African Medical Journal, 93(5), 364–366.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moodley, J., & Pattinson, R. C. (2003). Maternal deaths in South Africa. South African Medical Journal, 93(5), 354.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Committee for the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths (NCCEMD). (1988). Interim report on the confidential enquiry into maternal deaths in South Africa. Pretoria: Department of Health.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ronsmans, C., & Graham, W. J. (2006). Maternal mortality: Who, when, where, and why. Lancet, 368, 1189–1200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenfield, A., Maine, D., & Freedman, L. (2006). Meeting MDG-5: An impossible dream? Lancet, 368(9542), 1133–1135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stanton, C., Hobcraft, J., Hill, K., et al. (2001). Every death counts: Measurement of maternal mortality via a census. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 79(7), 657–664.

    Google Scholar 

  • Statistics South Africa (Stat-SA). (2007). Community Survey 2007: Methodology, processes and highlights of key results. Report No. 03-01-20. Pretoria: Statistics South Africa.

  • United Nations. (1982). Model life tables for developing countries. New York. Sales No. E.81.XIII.7.

  • United Nations. (2000). United Nations Millennium Declaration. Resolution A/RES/55/2. New York.

  • United Nations. (2001). Paragraph 125. In Handbook on population and housing census editing. New York.

  • United Nations. (2008a). Paragraph 2.196. In Principles and recommendations for population and housing censuses, Revision 2. New York.

  • United Nations. African Center for Statistics. (2008b). Africa addendum to the United Nations. In Principles and recommendations for population and housing censuses, Revision 2 (Draft, dated March 2008).

  • Van Coeverden de Groot, H. A. (1979). Trends in maternal mortality in Cape Town, 1953–1977. South African Medical Journal, 56(14), 547–552.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Coeverden de Groot, H. A. (1986). Maternal mortality in Cape Town, 1978–1983. South African Medical Journal, 69(13), 797–802.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Carla Abouzahr, Dr. Tiziana Leone and Dr. Vincent Fauveau for inviting us to their session at the IUSSP conference in Marrakech and for providing numerous comments, and Prof. Alan Matthews, university of Kwazulu Natal, for editorial comments.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. French Institute for Research and Development (IRD), Paris, France

    Michel Garenne

  2. Institut Pasteur, Unité d’Epidémiologie des Maladies Emergentes, 25 rue du Docteur Roux, 75015, Paris, France

    Michel Garenne

  3. Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA

    Robert McCaa

  4. IPUMS-International project, Minneapolis, USA

    Robert McCaa

  5. United Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), New York, USA

    Kourtoum Nacro

Authors
  1. Michel Garenne
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Robert McCaa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kourtoum Nacro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michel Garenne.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Garenne, M., McCaa, R. & Nacro, K. Maternal mortality in South Africa: an update from the 2007 Community Survey. J Pop Research 28, 89–101 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12546-010-9037-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12546-010-9037-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation