Pre and post natal complications among the slum dwellers at Mirpur area

Maternal Mortality is one of the crucial issues not only in Bangladesh but also in developing countries. In developing world, a woman dies in child birth and the cause of death enter on her medical record is hemorrhage, or eclampsia, anemia, hypertension or perhaps sepsis etc if she is hospitalized, otherwise the causes are known as maternal death. Such a record gives the impression that the women death is a tragic misfortune, chance event and the risky process of child birth itself. This is a false impression. Maternal mortality should not be viewed as a chance event. It is a chronic disease developing over a long period and the outcome of a pregnancy is profoundly influenced by the circumstances of a women's life by the economic and environmental conditions in which she lives as well as her social status. The study was conducted among 100 mothers who delivered recently and were living in Dhaka city at Mirpur slum areas in Bangladesh. The aim of the study was to determine the causes of maternal complexities and what condition they undergone during antenatal, delivery and postnatal period. A survey questionnaire including both open ended and close ended questionnaire was used as a tool for data collection. Findings of the study show that vulnerable socio-economic condition and low level knowledge about reproductive health are the main causes of complications. Moreover it is intensified by the early marriage system in Bangladesh. Thus this paper suggests that the effective awareness through education and income generating activities of women are needed for the betterment of reproductive health in such slum areas.