Factors influencing maternal mortality in St. Charles Lwanga Buikwe hospital, Buikwe district.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION The study was carried out basing on the topic “Factors influencing maternal mortality in St. Charles Lwanga Buikwe Hospital, Buikwe District-Uganda”. It aimed at determining the maternity mortality knowledge level among women in Buikwe Hospital, establishing the knowledge of the mothers on antenatal Care services in the Hospital and determining the Health system related factors that could possibly lead to maternal mortality. METHODOLOGY The study employed a descriptive cross sectional survey design where both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used with the help of questionnaires and interview guides to collect data from the field. All data was grouped and analyzed in a statistical way where by data was presented in tables showing frequencies and percentages. Sample size was determined using kish lslie (wayne 1997)formula. Therefore total number of289 respondents (mothers) participated in the research and total number of 15 non respondents (staffs) participated in the research. RESULTS The major findings of the study were; Mothers have knowledge that safe birth must be made in Hospitals not at home (170 mothers gave birth in the hospital 2-3 times and 54 mothers had given birth in the hospital 4 times) as per data analyzed most mothers fail to attend ANC due to long distances moved, most of pregnant mothers usually obtain knowledge on the causes of maternal mortality during after attending ANC services; the attitudes of mothers towards attending antenatal health care services and delivering in the Hospital showed that mothers have appositive attitude towards it and they usually attend their ANCs in Hospitals to avoid deaths, some mothers feel good about the services provided to them by the Hospital among others; the health related factors that could possibly lead to increased maternal mortality included inadequate investment in health sector unsafe abortions, poverty of households, tradition beliefs and religious practices among others. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS As per this research conducted most mothers prefer to give birth in the hospital in order to have a safe delivery but not at home or by traditional birth attendants. The researcher recommends that the government should put more trained personnel at the Hospital to cater for the mothers during and birth, organizing awareness seminars to sensitize the pregnant mothers on how to reduce on maternal mortality, provide enough equipment required by mothers during ANC, allocate enough funds in the national budget to cater for buying more ambulance, putting close monitoring on midwives who ignores patients.