The Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate recorded 23 maternal mortalities, in 2022, a marginal reduction from the 2021 figure of 25.
An officer at the Reproductive and Child Health Unit, Priscilla Aboagye-Mensah, who disclosed in a presentation at the annual performance review of the Directorate in Tema, indicated that the metro in 2018 recorded 31 deaths, which dropped to 18 in 2019 but rose to 25 in 2020.
She said the maternal mortality ratio for the period was 286 per every 100 thousand live births compared to 294 for 2021. This is high comparable to the WHO standard which is 70 per 100 thousand births.
Ms. Aboagye-Mensah mentioned personal and family-related factors, poor transportation system, lack of communication system, logistics, and health personnel-related problems as contributory factors of the maternal in the metropolis.
She said recommendations being considered to improve maternal mortality in the metro include capacity building, close monitoring after surgery, intensification of client education, equipping of the ICU, blood donation exercises, among others.
