ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to put together evidence to main causes of maternal death and groups at risk, using data from maternal mortality studies in several developing countries. The high maternal mortality rates in most of the developing countries, despite advances in health care, have prompted several studies analyzing the main causes of maternal death and groups at risk, so that medical care can be appropriately directed. According to the famous Zaria maternity survey that monitored deliveries in Ahmado Bello University Hospital in Nigeria, antenatal care was associated with a reduction in maternal mortality in all age-parity groups. In Thailand, mothers who started antenatal care in their first and second trimesters of pregnancy had lower maternal mortality rates than those who did not start antenatal care until the third trimester. The existing state of affairs in the health care system that contributes to high maternal mortality is not the consequence of mere inept planning or poor organizational and managerial capabilities.
