ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews aspects of maternal health in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria. The process of compiling this profile of maternal health underlined a number of issues. There was no lack of data, but rather there were multiple sources, many of them unpublished as internal reports for ministries, non-governmental organizations, or international agencies. The chapter argues that the lack of attention to maternal health as a regional issue by both those outside and within the Middle East masks substantial mtra-regional variation in factors contributing to maternal health outcomes, as well as variation in the outcomes themselves. The dearth of regional analysis also hinders the development of a coordinated approach to reviewing the regional profile of maternal health and to developing effective interventions for improving maternal health. The dimensions covered by this profile are as follows: general statistical overview, population and fertility, maternity care services, morbidity and mortality, access and barriers to care and perceptions of care.
