Abstract

Nigeria has the world’s second highest maternal mortality burden. The latest national demographic and health survey put the figures at 576 per 100000. The proximal reasons for this burden are: Hemorrhage, sepsis, obstructed labor and unsafe abortion related complications. Within the last 16 years (circa 2000), with the intervention of the millennium development goals initiative and a return of democratic government to Nigeria, a new regime of advocacy and good governance demand has brightened the spotlight on poor health indicators in general and maternal and child health in particular, in turn making maternal and child issues, high health priorities. Political will has aligned with resources and configured a more robust response to the maternal morbidity and mortality crisis. Improvements have been noted in the South of Nigeria, however in the North, progress is slower and change more jaded. The social and cultural texture of this region plays a distal role in the slow progress noted. More research needs to be undertaken to better understand the role of power gradients, religious beliefs and conditioning, social perceptions and pressure, educational status and transgenerational cultural practices. This systematic review examines the state of knowledge and the extent of gaps.

Keywords: Maternal mortality; Nigeria; Social status; Religious beliefs; Cultural practices