Maternal mortality and its relationship with the distribution of midwives in the regions of Peru: an ecological study

Alcántara V.H.M.; Herrera R.M.N.; Chacón R.M.Y.P. · Matronas Profesion (2020)

Resumen

Objective: Determine the relationship between the distribution of midwives in the regions of Peru and the maternal mortality. Methodology: Ecological design study where, for each region, the distribution of midwives per thousand pregnant women and the maternal mortality ratio were obtained. The reports of the Ministry of Health of Peru until 2015 were taken as a source of data, due to the completeness that they presented. The relationship between the variables was evaluated using a Spearman correlation, due to the non-normal distribution of the variables, with a confidence level of 95%. The QGIS software was used to evaluate the geographical distribution of the variables. Results: The median maternal mortality ratio in Peru was 72.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, while the number of midwives per 1,000 pregnant women was 22.6. The analysis showed a negative relationship that became significant (Rho= –0.397; p= 0.049). Likewise, it was found that the number of obstetricians has increased by 62.2% and the number of deaths has been reduced by 9.2% during the period from 2010 to 2015. Conclusions: There is a significant inverse relationship between maternal mortality and the distribution of midwives in the regions of Peru.

Instituciones: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia; Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos