Maternal Mortality in Pakistan: Causes, Risks, and Prevention Strategies
Maternal mortality continues to be a significant issue in Pakistan, with a high number of preventable deaths occurring every year. Despite significant advancements in healthcare, a large portion of these deaths could be avoided with early intervention, improved access to medical care, and better awareness. This blog aims to explore the causes of maternal mortality in Pakistan, the risks associated with pregnancy, and the prevention strategies that can save lives.
Causes of Maternal Mortality in Pakistan
Maternal mortality is primarily driven by complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Most of these causes are preventable if proper care is provided in time.
Severe Bleeding (Postpartum Hemorrhage): Severe bleeding during or after childbirth is the leading cause of maternal deaths in Pakistan, accounting for more than 30% of all cases. This can often be prevented with proper medical care and timely intervention.
Pregnancy-Related High Blood Pressure (Pre-eclampsia and Eclampsia): High blood pressure during pregnancy, known as pre-eclampsia, and its more severe form, eclampsia, contribute to 15-25% of maternal deaths. If not controlled, these conditions can lead to organ failure and death.
Infections and Sepsis: Infections during or after childbirth, often due to unsafe conditions or inadequate medical practices, are another leading cause of maternal death. Sepsis, a life-threatening infection, can spread rapidly and is responsible for a substantial portion of deaths.
Difficult Labor and Unsafe Abortions: Complications from difficult labor or unsafe abortion procedures are significant causes of maternal mortality. Delays in seeking medical attention during obstructed labor or resorting to unsafe methods of abortion worsen these outcomes.
Risks of Maternal Mortality in Pakistan
Several risk factors increase the likelihood of maternal death, making it essential to address these challenges at a systemic level.
Socioeconomic and Geographic Barriers
Poverty: Low-income families often face economic challenges, including the inability to afford medical care, which contributes to delayed or inadequate treatment.
Low Female Literacy: Lack of education, especially in rural communities, leads to ignorance about pregnancy complications and available medical solutions.
Distance and Accessibility: In rural areas, transportation to medical facilities is often challenging, particularly in emergency situations. This delay can be fatal.
Inadequate Healthcare Infrastructure
Across much of Pakistan, maternal care facilities lack the basic capacity to manage pregnancy complications. Many rural health centers do not offer round-the-clock maternity services, emergency referral systems, or essential equipment such as blood transfusion support. Even when women reach a facility, shortages of trained doctors, midwives, and nurses often delay life-saving care.
Harmful Gender Norms and Early Marriages
Social and cultural norms continue to place women’s health decisions in the hands of others. In many households, permission to seek medical care must come from male family members, leading to dangerous delays during pregnancy emergencies. Early marriages further increase risk, as young girls’ bodies are not fully prepared for childbirth.
Lack of Antenatal Care and Family Planning
A large number of pregnancies in Pakistan remain unregistered and unmanaged due to limited awareness and access to maternal services. Many women receive no antenatal checkups, missing early detection of anemia, high blood pressure, or infections. At the same time, gaps in family planning services result in closely spaced and unintended pregnancies, increasing physical strain on mothers and raising the risk of complications for both women and newborns.
Prevention Strategies to Reduce Maternal Mortality
Maternal deaths are largely preventable. Simple, cost-effective healthcare solutions and community education can drastically reduce these deaths.
Improving Access to Quality Healthcare
Preventing maternal deaths begins with reliable access to functioning health facilities. In rural Pakistan, many women still lack nearby centers that offer maternity services, referrals, or emergency care. Strengthening district-level hospitals and ensuring basic maternal services at primary health centers can significantly reduce fatal delays during pregnancy and childbirth.
Skilled Birth Attendance
Births attended by trained doctors, nurses, or midwives dramatically lower the risk of maternal death. Skilled attendants can identify warning signs early, manage complications during delivery, and arrange timely referrals when advanced care is needed, especially in high-risk pregnancies.
Strengthening Primary Healthcare
Primary healthcare plays a critical role in maternal survival. Community clinics and outreach programs allow early identification of pregnancy risks. When care begins at the community level, complications are less likely to escalate into emergencies.
Promoting Family Planning and Education
Access to family planning services helps women avoid closely spaced and high-risk pregnancies. Education for both women and families improves understanding of pregnancy risks, encourages antenatal visits, and supports healthier decision-making throughout the reproductive years.
Empowering Women
Women who can make informed decisions about their health are more likely to seek timely care. Improving female literacy, mobility, and awareness strengthens maternal outcomes by reducing delays in seeking medical help during pregnancy or childbirth.
Effective Monitoring and Policy Implementation
Sustained progress depends on strong governance. Prioritizing maternal health in national policies, expanding funding, and tracking outcomes at district levels help ensure that prevention efforts lead to measurable reductions in maternal deaths.
Statistics and Facts
Maternal mortality in Pakistan remains high compared to global standards. Here are some key statistics that highlight the severity of the issue:
Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR): As per studies, Pakistan has a MMR of 186 deaths per 100,000 live births, one of the highest in South Asia.
Antenatal Care: Approximately 28% of women in Pakistan report not having any antenatal visits, which increases the risk of complications during childbirth.
Maternal Age Risk: The maternal age group of 35+ years has a significantly higher risk of complications, including hypertensive disorders and gestational diabetes.
Rural Disparities: Women living in rural areas have 3-4 times higher risk of maternal death compared to those in urban areas, due to limited access to healthcare services.
Conclusion
By understanding the causes, risks, and preventive strategies, improving maternal healthcare in Pakistan is possible. Effective healthcare policies, community involvement, and improved education can help save lives and ensure that mothers receive the care they deserve.
SHINE Humanity continues to play a pivotal role in addressing maternal health challenges by integrating awareness, screening, and long-term care into its community programs. Alongside maternal health education and outreach, SHINE has also focused on conditions such as gestational diabetes, raising awareness among expecting mothers in underserved areas and emphasizing early risk identification during pregnancy. Through community clinics, mobile healthcare services, and preventive education, SHINE works to reduce complications before they become life-threatening.
Your support can make a difference. By donating to SHINE Humanity, you help expand safe motherhood initiatives, maternal screenings, and essential healthcare services for women across Pakistan. Together, we can strengthen maternal health systems and reduce preventable deaths where care is needed most.
FAQs
1. What are the leading causes of maternal death in Pakistan?
The primary causes include severe bleeding, pregnancy-related high blood pressure, infections, and complications during labor or unsafe abortions.
2. Why are maternal deaths higher in rural areas?
In rural areas, limited access to healthcare facilities, lack of skilled birth attendants, and socio-economic barriers prevent timely medical intervention.
3. What steps can be taken to prevent maternal mortality in Pakistan?
Improving healthcare infrastructure, increasing access to family planning, empowering women, and providing skilled birth attendants are essential to preventing maternal deaths.
4. How can family planning help reduce maternal mortality?
Increased access to contraception can prevent high-risk pregnancies, reducing complications and maternal deaths.
5. How is SHINE Humanity addressing maternal mortality in Pakistan?
SHINE is focusing on increasing awareness, providing maternal care services in rural areas, and conducting education programs to reduce maternal health risks.