Date of Conferral

8-12-2024

Date of Award

August 2024

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Health

Advisor

Patrick Tschida

Abstract

High rates of pregnancies and childbirth contribute to a heightened risk of maternal mortality among women between 15 and 49 in Liberia. Most women are uninformed about their maternal risk behaviors, symptom severity, and delayed care-seeking. The mortality rate for women between 25 and 34 during pregnancy and childbirth is unacceptably high. The highest increase in maternal mortality rates is seen among women between 40 and 44 who choose to delay motherhood. In Liberia, the deaths of 4.5 women a day are caused by complications during pregnancy and childbirth. We examined the influence of participant background characteristics, socioeconomic factors, and household demographics on the likelihood of maternal mortality using the socioecological model to guide the study. We conducted a study using a retrospective case-control design and quantitative techniques to explore the connection between predictor variables and maternal mortality. An analysis was conducted on a sample size of (N = 8,937). I employed descriptive statistics to offer a summary and description of population data collected from the 2013 Liberia Demographic and Health Survey (Liberia Demographic and Health Survey [LDHS]). Binomial logistic regression was used to predict the outcome of the dependent variable based on one or more predictor variables. Maternal alcohol consumption (p =.010), listening to the radio at least once a week (p =.017), unmet needs for limiting births (p =.048), no unmet needs (p =.022), six or more birth orders (p =.021), and rural residence (p =.052) significantly predicted maternal mortality. Improving maternal environments and implementing supportive policies would also address maternal health inequality, leading to positive social change.

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