Maternal mortality in rural South Africa: the impact of case definition on levels and trends

Figures & data

Table 1 Maternal mortality data, Agincourt, South Africa 1992–2010

	Women 15–49 years	Period		RR	95% CI	Significance
		1992–2001	2002–2010
Raw data	Person-years lived	150,091	178,757	1.19
	Births	16,510	15,904	0.96
	Deaths 15–49	555	1,615	2.91
	Direct cause O00–O95	20	40	2.00
	Pregnancy-related	46	91	1.98
Rates	General fertility rate/1000	110	89	0.81	0.79–0.83	*
	Death rate/1000	3.70	9.03	2.44	2.22–2.69	*
	Percent direct	3.6	2.5	0.69	0.40–1.18	NS
	MMR (direct)/100,000	121	252	2.08	1.21–3.55	*
	MMR (Pregnancy-related)/100,000	279	572	2.05	1.44–2.93	*
Number of pregnancy-related deaths by cause (determined by verbal autopsy)
Direct	Sepsis	2	9	4.67	1.01–21.6	*
	Hypertension	3	8	2.77	0.73–10.4	NS
	Other and ill defined	15	23	1.59	0.83–3.05	NS
Other	HIV/AIDS, TB	9	26	3.00	1.41–6.40	*
	Other infections	2	8	4.15	0.88–19.6	Borderline
	Noncommunicable	4	5	1.30	0.35–4.83	NS
	External	3	0	0.00		NS
	Unknown cause	8	12	1.56	0.64–3.81	NS
	Total	46	91	2.05	1.44–2.93	*

Notes: General fertility rate = births per 1,000 women age 15–49 per year; death rate = deaths per 1,000 women age 15–49 per year.

* P < 0.05.

Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; MMR, maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 live births); NS, not significant; RR, relative risks; TB, tuberculosis.

Figure 1 Trends in maternal mortality, Agincourt, subdistrict, South Africa 1992–2010.

Notes: National censuses were conducted in 2001 and 2007; census data apply to the 12 months before census. Vital registration data and confidential enquiries from published statistics (direct causes only).
Abbreviation: MMR, maternal mortality ratio.