Estimating maternal mortality in Kenya from reported households deaths

Anne Khasakhala, University of Nairobi
Alfred Otieno Agwanda, University of Nairobi
George O. Odwe, University of Nairobi

The paper seeks to evaluate the utility of using reported household deaths in the last 12 months to estimate maternal mortality at sub national levels using data from the 2009 Kenya Population Census. The results show that pregnancy-related deaths accounted for 18 % of deaths in the household. This proportion varies from about 8 % in Central region of Kenya to over 50% in the Northern part of Kenya. National level estimate are within expected range (497 deaths per 100000 live births) but with wide differentials ranging from 160 in urban Nairobi to a high of 2451 deaths per 100,000 live births in Northern part of Kenya. The age specific maternal mortality ratios for most regions form a J shaped curve and similar to estimates observed elsewhere. Use of recent household deaths has great potential for providing timely levels and differentials in maternal mortality but some limitations require further research.