The Challenges
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) report, two third of global maternal mortality happened in sub Saharan African with Nigeria reporting the highest incidences.
The lifetime possibility of a pregnant woman in Nigeria of dying during pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum or post-abortion is 1 in 22, in contrast to women in the developed countries estimated at 1 in 4900.
The high rate of maternal and neonatal mortality has be attributed to the delay and lack of well-informed education to seek prenatal and postnatal care, lack of accessible primary health clinic (PHCs), and delay in receiving life saving medical interventions when the woman finally gets to the health clinic.
These further shows that quality maternal care determines newborn survival.