Risk factors for maternal death and trends in maternal mortality in low- and middle-income countries: a prospective longitudinal cohort analysis

Table 2 Maternal characteristics by maternal status at 6 weeks

Characteristic	n(%)^*			RR of maternal death versus alive at six weeks (95% CI) ^‡
	Women who died n=402	Women alive six weeks after delivery n=277,334	Total n=277,736
Maternal age
< 20	36 (9.0)	32,987 (11.9)	33,023 (11.9)	0.8 (0.6, 1.1)
20-35	332 (83.4)	233,322 (84.3)	233,654 (84.3)	1.0
> 35	30 (7.5)	10,594 (3.8)	10,624 (3.8)	2.0 (1.3, 3.0)
Maternal education
No formal education	164 (41.1)	69,204 (25.1)	69,368 (25.1)	4.2 (2.2, 8.0)
Primary	132 (33.1)	103,663 (37.5)	103,795 (37.5)	2.3 (1.2, 4.6)
Secondary	92 (23.1)	83,276 (30.2)	83,368 (30.2)	2.0 (1.0, 4.0)
University +	11 (2.8)	19,953 (7.2)	19,964 (7.2)	1.0
Parity
0	131 (32.7)	93,337 (33.8)	93,468 (33.8)	1.3 (1.0, 1.6)
1-2	131 (32.7)	117,115 (42.4)	117,246 (42.3)	1.0
> 2	139 (34.7)	66,071 (23.9)	66,210 (23.9)	1.8 (1.4, 2.2)
Last pregnancy did not result in a live birth	34 (12.6)	11,132 (6.1)	11,166 (6.1)	2.1 (1.5, 3.1)

^* The denominator used to determine the percentage of women with each characteristic varies due to missing data.
^‡ Generalized linear models were used to evaluate the relationship of potential factors and maternal mortality and to develop point and interval estimates of relative risk associated with these factors. Generalized estimating equations were used to account for the correlation of outcomes within cluster to develop appropriate confidence intervals. Unless otherwise noted, the reference group is women who did not have the listed characteristic.

ISSN: 1742-4755