Socio-economic and cultural factors influencing maternal mortality in Tanzania: A case study of MBeya region

The main concern of this study was to explore socioeconomic
and cultural factors associated with maternal
mortality in Mbeya Region. Four hypotheses guided this
study. Through them the study sought to establish
empirically the i~fluence of household income, government
expenditure, family planning practices,·and utilization of
maternity services on maternal mortality., To accomplish
this task, a descriptive and comparative (case/control)
design was employed. A sample of convenience was used.
Data was collected through interviews and focus group
discussions - involving relatives of the deceased, mothers
who delivered safely, traditional birth attendants,
religious leaders, and heads of health institutions.
The results obtained confirmed our hypotheses. That
is, it has been demonstrated that most of the deceased
belonged to the low income households as compared to women
who survived. Further that, the decrease of government
expenditure, coupled wi_th a decline in income, contributed
significantly to the increase of maternal deaths.
Moreover, the study illustrated that failure to practice
family planning and non-utilization of maternity services
predisposes women to the otherwise unnecessary deaths.