Individual, health facility and wider health system factors contributing to maternal deaths in Africa: A scoping review.

ABSTRACT: The number of women dying during pregnancy and after childbirth remains unacceptably high, with African countries showing the slowest decline. The leading causes of maternal deaths in Africa are preventable direct obstetric causes such as haemorrhage, infection, hypertension, unsafe abortion, and obstructed labour. There is an information gap on factors contributing to maternal deaths in Africa. Our objective was to identify these contributing factors and assess the frequency of their reporting in published literature. We followed the Arksey and O'Malley methodological framework for scoping reviews. We searched six electronic bibliographic databases: MEDLINE, SCOPUS, African Index Medicus, African Journals Online (AJOL), French humanities and social sciences databases, and Web of Science.

SUBMITTER: Muriithi FG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10021542 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature