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A review of maternal mortality trends in Lebanon, 2010–2018
Author(s) -
ElKak Faysal,
KabakianKhasholian Tamar,
Ammar Walid,
Nassar Anwar
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
international journal of gynecology and obstetrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.895
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1879-3479
pISSN - 0020-7292
DOI - 10.1002/ijgo.12994
Subject(s) - refugee , christian ministry , environmental health , medicine , public health , maternal mortality rate , healthcare system , millennium development goals , health care , standardized mortality ratio , demography , economic growth , political science , developing country , population , nursing , health services , sociology , law , economics
Lebanon invested in the prevention of maternal mortality after the civil war, which left a deficient vital registration system leading to unreliable estimates of maternal mortality ratio ( MMR ). Starting in 2004, the Ministry of Public Health integrated reproductive health into primary health care and established a national notification system of maternal and neonatal deaths. From 1990 to 2013, Lebanon achieved an annual change in MMR of −7.5%, which was the highest rate of reduction in the region and met the requirements of Millennium Development Goal 5. For the period 2010–2018, data collected through the national notification system indicate an MMR of 14.9, which is below the officially reported MMR of 23. Since the influx of Syrian refugees, Lebanon has experienced a rise in the number of live births with a slightly increasing trend in MMR , especially in regions with the highest concentration of refugees. Causes of maternal mortality in Lebanon align with the three‐delays model, pointing to deficiencies in the quality of maternity care. More efforts are needed toward strengthening the national notification system to include cases that occur outside hospitals, identifying near‐miss cases, reinforcing the emergency response system, and engaging with all stakeholders to improve quality of care.