Maternal deaths resulting from complications of pregnancy and childbirth in a given population.

Organized services to provide health care to expectant and nursing mothers.

The death of the female parent.

All deaths reported in a given population.

Excess blood loss from uterine bleeding associated with OBSTETRIC LABOR or CHILDBIRTH. It is defined as blood loss greater than 500 ml or of the amount that adversely affects the maternal physiology, such as BLOOD PRESSURE and HEMATOCRIT. Postpartum hemorrhage is divided into two categories, immediate (within first 24 hours after birth) or delayed (after 24 hours postpartum).

The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.

An infection occurring in PUERPERIUM, the period of 6-8 weeks after giving birth.

Conditions or pathological processes associated with pregnancy. They can occur during or after pregnancy, and range from minor discomforts to serious diseases that require medical interventions. They include diseases in pregnant females, and pregnancies in females with diseases.

Onset of HYPERREFLEXIA; SEIZURES; or COMA in a previously diagnosed pre-eclamptic patient (PRE-ECLAMPSIA).

The practice of assisting women in childbirth.

Factors which produce cessation of all vital bodily functions. They can be analyzed from an epidemiologic viewpoint.

Medical problems associated with OBSTETRIC LABOR, such as BREECH PRESENTATION; PREMATURE OBSTETRIC LABOR; HEMORRHAGE; or others. These complications can affect the well-being of the mother, the FETUS, or both.

Postnatal deaths from BIRTH to 365 days after birth in a given population. Postneonatal mortality represents deaths between 28 days and 365 days after birth (as defined by National Center for Health Statistics). Neonatal mortality represents deaths from birth to 27 days after birth.

Countries in the process of change with economic growth, that is, an increase in production, per capita consumption, and income. The process of economic growth involves better utilization of natural and human resources, which results in a change in the social, political, and economic structures.

Delivery of the FETUS and PLACENTA under the care of an obstetrician or a health worker. Obstetric deliveries may involve physical, psychological, medical, or surgical interventions.

Organized efforts by communities or organizations to improve the health and well-being of the mother.

Care provided the pregnant woman in order to prevent complications, and decrease the incidence of maternal and prenatal mortality.

Illegal termination of pregnancy.

A nursing specialty involving nursing care given to the pregnant patient before, after, or during childbirth.

Childbirth taking place in the home.

A vital statistic measuring or recording the rate of death from any cause in hospitalized populations.

Number of deaths of children between one year of age to 12 years of age in a given population.

Hospital department responsible for the administration and management of services provided for obstetric and gynecologic patients.

Deaths occurring from the 28th week of GESTATION to the 28th day after birth in a given population.

A republic in western Africa, south of NIGER between BENIN and CAMEROON. Its capital is Abuja.

A medical-surgical specialty concerned with management and care of women during pregnancy, parturition, and the puerperium.

The co-occurrence of pregnancy and a cardiovascular disease. The disease may precede or follow FERTILIZATION and it may or may not have a deleterious effect on the pregnant woman or FETUS.

The degree to which individuals are inhibited or facilitated in their ability to gain entry to and to receive care and services from the health care system. Factors influencing this ability include geographic, architectural, transportational, and financial considerations, among others.

An infant during the first month after birth.

Intentional removal of a fetus from the uterus by any of a number of techniques. (POPLINE, 1978)

Results of conception and ensuing pregnancy, including LIVE BIRTH; STILLBIRTH; SPONTANEOUS ABORTION; INDUCED ABORTION. The outcome may follow natural or artificial insemination or any of the various ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNIQUES, such as EMBRYO TRANSFER or FERTILIZATION IN VITRO.

Studies used to test etiologic hypotheses in which inferences about an exposure to putative causal factors are derived from data relating to characteristics of persons under study or to events or experiences in their past. The essential feature is that some of the persons under study have the disease or outcome of interest and their characteristics are compared with those of unaffected persons.

The inhabitants of rural areas or of small towns classified as rural.

Hospital units equipped for childbirth.

Time period from 1701 through 1800 of the common era.

Extraction of the FETUS by means of abdominal HYSTEROTOMY.

The granting of a license to practice the profession of nursing.

A course or method of action selected, usually by a government, to guide and determine present and future decisions on population control by limiting the number of children or controlling fertility, notably through family planning and contraception within the nuclear family.

A republic in eastern Africa bounded on the north by RWANDA and on the south by TANZANIA. Its capital is Bujumbura.

A republic in southern Africa, south of TANZANIA, east of ZAMBIA and ZIMBABWE, bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean. Its capital is Maputo. It was formerly called Portuguese East Africa.

Official records of individual deaths including the cause of death certified by a physician, and any other required identifying information.

Health care programs or services designed to assist individuals in the planning of family size. Various methods of CONTRACEPTION can be used to control the number and timing of childbirths.

Postmortem examination of the body.

Used for general articles concerning statistics of births, deaths, marriages, etc.

Ongoing scrutiny of a population (general population, study population, target population, etc.), generally using methods distinguished by their practicability, uniformity, and frequently their rapidity, rather than by complete accuracy.

A country in western Africa, east of MAURITANIA and south of ALGERIA. Its capital is Bamako. From 1904-1920 it was known as Upper Senegal-Niger; prior to 1958, as French Sudan; 1958-1960 as the Sudanese Republic and 1959-1960 it joined Senegal in the Mali Federation. It became an independent republic in 1960.

A syndrome of HEMOLYSIS, elevated liver ENZYMES, and low blood platelets count (THROMBOCYTOPENIA). HELLP syndrome is observed in pregnant women with PRE-ECLAMPSIA or ECLAMPSIA who also exhibit LIVER damage and abnormalities in BLOOD COAGULATION.

Time period from 1801 through 1900 of the common era.

A republic in western Africa, southwest of MAURITANIA and east of MALI. Its capital is Dakar.

A republic in eastern Africa, south of UGANDA and north of MOZAMBIQUE. Its capital is Dar es Salaam. It was formed in 1964 by a merger of the countries of TANGANYIKA and ZANZIBAR.

The non-profit, non-governmental organization which collects, processes, and distributes data on hospital use. Two programs of the Commission are the Professional Activity Study and the Medical Audit Program.

Studies in which subsets of a defined population are identified. These groups may or may not be exposed to factors hypothesized to influence the probability of the occurrence of a particular disease or other outcome. Cohorts are defined populations which, as a whole, are followed in an attempt to determine distinguishing subgroup characteristics.

The concept pertaining to the health status of inhabitants of the world.

A republic stretching from the Indian Ocean east to New Guinea, comprising six main islands: Java, Sumatra, Bali, Kalimantan (the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo), Sulawesi (formerly known as the Celebes) and Irian Jaya (the western part of New Guinea). Its capital is Djakarta. The ethnic groups living there are largely Chinese, Arab, Eurasian, Indian, and Pakistani; 85% of the peoples are of the Islamic faith.

A complication of PREGNANCY, characterized by a complex of symptoms including maternal HYPERTENSION and PROTEINURIA with or without pathological EDEMA. Symptoms may range between mild and severe. Pre-eclampsia usually occurs after the 20th week of gestation, but may develop before this time in the presence of trophoblastic disease.

An aspect of personal behavior or lifestyle, environmental exposure, or inborn or inherited characteristic, which, on the basis of epidemiologic evidence, is known to be associated with a health-related condition considered important to prevent.

The proportion of patients with a particular disease during a given year per given unit of population.

Time period from 1601 through 1700 of the common era.

Elements of limited time intervals, contributing to particular results or situations.

The age of the mother in PREGNANCY.

An independent state in eastern Africa. Ethiopia is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered on the north and northeast by Eritrea, on the east by Djibouti and Somalia, on the south by Kenya, and on the west and southwest by Sudan. Its capital is Addis Ababa.

The country is bordered by RUSSIA on the north and CHINA on the west, south, and east. The capita is Ulaanbaatar.

Bleeding from blood vessels in the UTERUS, sometimes manifested as vaginal bleeding.

A republic in western Africa, south of BURKINA FASO and west of TOGO. Its capital is Accra.

The number of offspring a female has borne. It is contrasted with GRAVIDITY, which refers to the number of pregnancies, regardless of outcome.

Institutions which provide medical or health-related services.

The status of health in rural populations.

A legal concept for individuals who are designated to act on behalf of persons who are considered incapable of acting in their own behalf, e.g., minors and persons found to be not mentally competent.

Observation of a population for a sufficient number of persons over a sufficient number of years to generate incidence or mortality rates subsequent to the selection of the study group.

Disorders or diseases associated with PUERPERIUM, the six-to-eight-week period immediately after PARTURITION in humans.

Termination of pregnancy under conditions allowed under local laws. (POPLINE Thesaurus, 1991)

The number of new cases of a given disease during a given period in a specified population. It also is used for the rate at which new events occur in a defined population. It is differentiated from PREVALENCE, which refers to all cases, new or old, in the population at a given time.

A republic in southern Africa east of ZAMBIA and MOZAMBIQUE. Its capital is Lilongwe. It was formerly called Nyasaland.

The qualitative or quantitative estimation of the likelihood of adverse effects that may result from exposure to specified health hazards or from the absence of beneficial influences. (Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 1988)

Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era.

A condition in pregnant women with elevated systolic (>140 mm Hg) and diastolic (>90 mm Hg) blood pressure on at least two occasions 6 h apart. HYPERTENSION complicates 8-10% of all pregnancies, generally after 20 weeks of gestation. Gestational hypertension can be divided into several broad categories according to the complexity and associated symptoms, such as EDEMA; PROTEINURIA; SEIZURES; abnormalities in BLOOD COAGULATION and liver functions.

All of Africa except Northern Africa (AFRICA, NORTHERN).

Health services, public or private, in rural areas. The services include the promotion of health and the delivery of health care.

The care of women and a fetus or newborn given before, during, and after delivery from the 28th week of gestation through the 7th day after delivery.

Age as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or the effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from AGING, a physiological process, and TIME FACTORS which refers only to the passage of time.

A specialized agency of the United Nations designed as a coordinating authority on international health work; its aim is to promote the attainment of the highest possible level of health by all peoples.

Countries that have reached a level of economic achievement through an increase of production, per capita income and consumption, and utilization of natural and human resources.

Studies in which individuals or populations are followed to assess the outcome of exposures, procedures, or effects of a characteristic, e.g., occurrence of disease.

Statistical models used in survival analysis that assert that the effect of the study factors on the hazard rate in the study population is multiplicative and does not change over time.

Social and economic factors that characterize the individual or group within the social structure.

A distribution function used to describe the occurrence of rare events or to describe the sampling distribution of isolated counts in a continuum of time or space.

The systems and processes involved in the establishment, support, management, and operation of registers, e.g., disease registers.

A geographic location which has insufficient health resources (manpower and/or facilities) to meet the medical needs of the resident population.

A variety of anesthetic methods such as EPIDURAL ANESTHESIA used to control the pain of childbirth.

In females, the period that is shortly after giving birth (PARTURITION).

A medical facility which provides a high degree of subspecialty expertise for patients from centers where they received SECONDARY CARE.

Persons trained to assist professional health personnel in communicating with residents in the community concerning needs and availability of health services.

The co-occurrence of pregnancy and a blood disease (HEMATOLOGIC DISEASES) which involves BLOOD CELLS or COAGULATION FACTORS. The hematologic disease may precede or follow FERTILIZATION and it may or may not have a deleterious effect on the pregnant woman or FETUS.

Evaluation undertaken to assess the results or consequences of management and procedures used in combating disease in order to determine the efficacy, effectiveness, safety, and practicability of these interventions in individual cases or series.

Research techniques that focus on study designs and data gathering methods in human and animal populations.

Prevention of CONCEPTION by blocking fertility temporarily, or permanently (STERILIZATION, REPRODUCTIVE). Common means of reversible contraception include NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING METHODS; CONTRACEPTIVE AGENTS; or CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES.

Drugs that stimulate contraction of the myometrium. They are used to induce LABOR, OBSTETRIC at term, to prevent or control postpartum or postabortion hemorrhage, and to assess fetal status in high risk pregnancies. They may also be used alone or with other drugs to induce abortions (ABORTIFACIENTS). Oxytocics used clinically include the neurohypophyseal hormone OXYTOCIN and certain prostaglandins and ergot alkaloids. (From AMA Drug Evaluations, 1994, p1157)

Systematic gathering of data for a particular purpose from various sources, including questionnaires, interviews, observation, existing records, and electronic devices. The process is usually preliminary to statistical analysis of the data.

The repetitive uterine contraction during childbirth which is associated with the progressive dilation of the uterine cervix (CERVIX UTERI). Successful labor results in the expulsion of the FETUS and PLACENTA. Obstetric labor can be spontaneous or induced (LABOR, INDUCED).

The frequency of different ages or age groups in a given population. The distribution may refer to either how many or what proportion of the group. The population is usually patients with a specific disease but the concept is not restricted to humans and is not restricted to medicine.

A small colorless crystal used as an anticonvulsant, a cathartic, and an electrolyte replenisher in the treatment of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia. It causes direct inhibition of action potentials in myometrial muscle cells. Excitation and contraction are uncoupled, which decreases the frequency and force of contractions. (From AMA Drug Evaluations Annual, 1992, p1083)

A class of statistical procedures for estimating the survival function (function of time, starting with a population 100% well at a given time and providing the percentage of the population still well at later times). The survival analysis is then used for making inferences about the effects of treatments, prognostic factors, exposures, and other covariates on the function.

The event that a FETUS is born alive with heartbeats or RESPIRATION regardless of GESTATIONAL AGE. Such liveborn is called a newborn infant (INFANT, NEWBORN).

Death of the developing young in utero. BIRTH of a dead FETUS is STILLBIRTH.

A republic in southern Africa, south of DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO and TANZANIA, and north of ZIMBABWE. Its capital is Lusaka. It was formerly called Northern Rhodesia.

The care provided to women and their NEWBORNS for the first few months following CHILDBIRTH.

The proportion of survivors in a group, e.g., of patients, studied and followed over a period, or the proportion of persons in a specified group alive at the beginning of a time interval who survive to the end of the interval. It is often studied using life table methods.

A range of values for a variable of interest, e.g., a rate, constructed so that this range has a specified probability of including the true value of the variable.

The co-occurrence of pregnancy and an INFECTION. The infection may precede or follow FERTILIZATION.

A synthetic analog of natural prostaglandin E1. It produces a dose-related inhibition of gastric acid and pepsin secretion, and enhances mucosal resistance to injury. It is an effective anti-ulcer agent and also has oxytocic properties.

The number of births in a given population per year or other unit of time.

The creation and maintenance of medical and vital records in multiple institutions in a manner that will facilitate the combined use of the records of identified individuals.

Services specifically designed, staffed, and equipped for the emergency care of patients.

The seeking and acceptance by patients of health service.

A systematic collection of factual data pertaining to health and disease in a human population within a given geographic area.

The concept covering the physical and mental conditions of women.

General and comprehensive nursing practice directed to individuals, families, or groups as it relates to and contributes to the health of a population or community. This is not an official program of a Public Health Department.

A country in northeastern Africa. The capital is Khartoum.

Health care services related to human REPRODUCTION and diseases of the reproductive system. Services are provided to both sexes and usually by physicians in the medical or the surgical specialties such as REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE; ANDROLOGY; GYNECOLOGY; OBSTETRICS; and PERINATOLOGY.

The ratio of two odds. The exposure-odds ratio for case control data is the ratio of the odds in favor of exposure among cases to the odds in favor of exposure among noncases. The disease-odds ratio for a cohort or cross section is the ratio of the odds in favor of disease among the exposed to the odds in favor of disease among the unexposed. The prevalence-odds ratio refers to an odds ratio derived cross-sectionally from studies of prevalent cases.

The quality or state of relating to or affecting two or more nations. (After Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed)

Pathological conditions involving the CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM including the HEART; the BLOOD VESSELS; or the PERICARDIUM.

The integration of epidemiologic, sociological, economic, and other analytic sciences in the study of health services. Health services research is usually concerned with relationships between need, demand, supply, use, and outcome of health services. The aim of the research is evaluation, particularly in terms of structure, process, output, and outcome. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)

Deaths that occur before LIFE EXPECTANCY is reached within a given population.

Hospitals engaged in educational and research programs, as well as providing medical care to the patients.

The geographical area of Africa comprising BENIN; BURKINA FASO; COTE D'IVOIRE; GAMBIA; GHANA; GUINEA; GUINEA-BISSAU; LIBERIA; MALI; MAURITANIA; NIGER; NIGERIA; SENEGAL; SIERRA LEONE; and TOGO.

Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time.

Procedures for finding the mathematical function which best describes the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. In linear regression (see LINEAR MODELS) the relationship is constrained to be a straight line and LEAST-SQUARES ANALYSIS is used to determine the best fit. In logistic regression (see LOGISTIC MODELS) the dependent variable is qualitative rather than continuously variable and LIKELIHOOD FUNCTIONS are used to find the best relationship. In multiple regression, the dependent variable is considered to depend on more than a single independent variable.

The concept concerned with all aspects of providing and distributing health services to a patient population.

Inorganic compounds that contain calcium as an integral part of the molecule.

Statistical models which describe the relationship between a qualitative dependent variable (that is, one which can take only certain discrete values, such as the presence or absence of a disease) and an independent variable. A common application is in epidemiology for estimating an individual's risk (probability of a disease) as a function of a given risk factor.

The inhabitants of a city or town, including metropolitan areas and suburban areas.