The DHS Program

Trends in Maternal Health Indicators in Sierra Leone, 2008-2013 (English) 

Document Type

Further Analysis

Publication Topic(s)

Maternal Health

Country(s)

Sierra Leone

Survey

Sierra Leone DHS, 2013

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Assaf, Shireen and Rebecca Winter. 2015. Trends in Maternal Health Indicators in Sierra Leone, 2008-2013. DHS Further Analysis Reports No. 97. Rockville, Maryland, USA: ICF International.

Download Citation

RIS format / Text format / Endnote format

Publication Date

December 2015

Publication ID

FA97

Abstract:

This report uses data from surveys conducted by The Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program in Sierra Leone, in 2008 and 2013, to examine changes and improvements in maternal health indicators. The indicators for modern contraceptive use, four or more antenatal care visits, deliveries by a skilled birth attendant, deliveries in a facility, deliveries by Caesarean-section, and postnatal care visits all improved significantly between the two surveys. For some of these indicators, the improvements were not always equitable or significant for all subgroups of women. However, improvements in access to antenatal and postnatal care were successful in closing gaps between subgroups of women. Similar improvements in equity are needed for the remaining maternal health indicators. There were only small and mainly nonsignificant changes for women with high-risk fertility behavior, a finding that indicates the need to increase education and awareness among women and in communities on the dangers of risky childbearing behavior. Further improvements in infrastructure, availability of commodities, training in emergency obstetric care,and referral systems are required if Sierra Leone is to achieve better maternal health.