INFLUENCE OF MATERNAL MORTALITY ON COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN NJIKOKA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF ANAMBRA STATE

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of maternal mortality on community development in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State.  The major research questions developed for the study were as followed; What are the causes of maternal mortality in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State?  2. In what ways does maternal mortality influence economic development of communities in Njikoka Government Area?  3. In what ways does maternal mortality influence educational development on communities?  4. In what ways does maternal mortality influence social lives of a community?  5. In what ways does maternal mortality influence health development of the people?  Adults in Idemili Local Government Area of Anambra State between the ages of 18 – 51 years and above were used as the target population while four hundred (400) adults were sampled for the study using simple random sampling technique.  In collecting data the structured questionnaire was used.  The data obtained were organized and analyzed using percentage, mean score and standard deviation to answer the research questions.  The hypothesis for the study was tested using the z-test statistics. The findings of the study included the following; 1. A close observation of the findings in section 1 of the questionnaire reveals that responses from males are more than responses from females.  2. Adults who were within the age range of 41 – 45 years formed majority, while those within the age range of 18 – 22 years old were fewer.  3. Those who obtained WAEC or O/L certificate formed majority of the respondents, while only few of the respondents have university qualification.  4. About 75% of the entire sampled population used for the study were married while singles, engaged, divorced and widowed represent only 25%. 5. Majority of the respondents were traders covering about 45% of the sampled population.

Maternal mortality problem is a big concern in the field of public health and socio-economic development in terms of effect on families, community, and society at large. Maternal mortality is defined as the death of a woman during pregnancy or within 42 days after the termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management, but not from accidental or incidental causes (World Health Organization [WHO], 2025).. Furthermore, the death of a woman due to maternal causes is a development issue too because a woman is the source of income; she is a caretaker within her home; she educates children; she participates in farming activities; she maintains social order as well as a leader in her community..

Community development is a process through which the members of the community assess their needs and make use of their resources in order to take actions which would contribute to their betterment. Community development consists of services like health, education, employment, infrastructure, social security and participation of the members in the decision-making process of the locality.. The involvement of women in the process is through various aspects such as the productive and reproductive aspects, voluntarism, petty trade, peasant farming and care work and others.. Maternal mortality can have negative effects on the development of the community in terms of poor production of households, increased burden on other family members, disruption of child development and reduced involvement of women in community affairs..

The importance of the issue of maternal mortality in the global context is quite significant. As stated by WHO (2025), the number of women who died as a result of pregnancy, childbirth or after giving birth equaled to 260,000 cases in 2023..

These deaths were mainly concentrated in lower and lower-middle-income countries and most of them could have been prevented if women had access to good-quality health services both before and after pregnancy. According to the WHO, good-quality health services are extremely important when it comes to reducing maternal mortality rate. These statistics prove that maternal mortality remains one of the largest obstacles on the path of achieving good health and sustainable development of women, and the question of access and equipment is the central one..

The problem of maternal mortality is one of the problems when it comes to health policies in Nigeria. Based on the health indicator platform of WHO, the estimated maternal mortality ratio for Nigeria is 993 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023 (WHO, n.d.). The estimated figure gives an idea about the scale of the problem despite the fact that it cannot be considered a rate for all states/local government areas in Nigeria. The problem associated with maternal health in Nigeria may have an effect on the wellbeing of households, productivity of labor force, poverty reduction, and realization of the Sustainable Development Goals. In particular, it is important from the point of view of Goal 3 that is aimed at good health and wellbeing and Goal 5 that focuses on gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls (United Nations, n.d.).

Maternal death may occur due to either 'direct obstetric causes', such as excessive blood loss, hypertensive diseases, infections, unsafe abortions, and obstructed labor; or 'indirect causes', which are the medical conditions that deteriorate during pregnancy. However, there are social and institutional influences on the medical factors such as poverty, substandard care during pregnancy, delays in accessing health services, difficulties with transportation, unpreparedness of the health institutions, lack of skilled staff and availability of emergency obstetric care (WHO, 2025). The importance of knowing the factors is evident because maternal deaths are usually preventable.

The case of Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State illustrates that it is important to have an insight of maternal mortality in the specific local context. It was because of this reason that there was the initiation of the Prevention of Maternal Mortality project where 48 individuals were chosen from the local community to educate people about obstetric cases and blood donation. Apart from the 18 individuals with serious obstetric complications who were actually referred to be taken to hospital by the contact persons within the 18-month intervention period, there were more individuals who benefitted from transportation to health facilities. This research brings out the example from the local environment which indicates that the end result of maternal health depends not only on the availability of health services, but also on community knowledge and transport among other things..

There is also the impact of maternal mortality on development because women contribute to the production of income in the households. For instance, in the communities where women operate shops and markets, engage in agriculture and process food products, such income is earned by the women to sustain their own lives, those of their families and even contribute to the economy of the community. There would be income loss, lower savings as well as higher costs related to health care services prior to the death of the woman and funeral costs following the death of the woman. There is also the cost of lost labor and extra costs of supporting the rest of the family. There would be a reduction in the value of women within the community due to frequent deaths of mothers..

The effects of the maternal deaths may go ahead and influence the education of the children, especially in case of the maternal deaths where there are children that have been left behind. It is usually the women who are responsible for attending to the educational needs of the children, being concerned about the education of the children, making sure that the children are emotionally safe, and making sure that they have everything necessary for learning. In case of the deaths of the mothers, it will be the responsibility of either the father or the grandparents, or even other relatives of the child.

Maternal mortality may also affect the social development of the community. Mothers play an important role in the social development of a community in the sense that they give social and emotional support and they are responsible for fostering family relations, taking care of dependents, as well as participating in religious organizations, cooperative societies, women's organizations and other community organizations. Deaths in the maternal category create emotional disturbances, disrupt family relations and add to the burden of the surviving members of the family. In those communities where women play an important role in the formation of mutual-aid systems and joint ventures, maternal deaths could reduce the capacity of a family to join in any social activity and undertaking...

Maternal mortality is a vital factor in health development since the deaths of women giving birth may indicate certain weaknesses in the health care delivery system. In case pregnant women are not able to access antenatal services, trained personnel deliveries, transport services, blood transfusion, and postnatal care, there exists the likelihood that complications will arise leading to illnesses and ultimately death. Maternal deaths may influence the level of trust people may have towards the health facilities. Nevertheless, the achievement of good maternal health care cannot simply depend on encouraging women to attend hospitals. There needs to be sufficient staff, affordable services, proper referrals, medication, and respect.

While the significance of these problems cannot be understated, the effect of maternal deaths on the growth of the community has not been investigated in terms of the development of the community in the areas of economics, education, society, and health. Although the lessons learned from the intervention at Njikoka have revealed that the cause of the above problems is the delay in maternal care, they have not established that maternal deaths are widespread in other communities in the local government area and that the above problems affect the entire local government area. This has led to a need for investigation into how the victims' families cope with maternal deaths