Barriers to safe motherhood in Nigeria

This report examines trends over a 13-year period (1990-2003) in selected factors that are directly and indirectly related to maternal mortality in Nigeria - the educational and social status of women of childbearing age, average family size, patterns of contraceptive use and unmet need for family planning, levels of unintended childbearing and proportions of births that constitute a high risk to mothers and their infants. The report also looks at the use of health services by Nigerian women during pregnancy and childbirth, as well as recent estimates of levels and sources of overall health care expenditures in Nigeria. In addition, it examines the policies and programs that affect maternal health in the country.