Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Maternal morbidity affects millions of women, the burden of which is highest in low resource settings. We sought to explore when this ill-health occurs and is most significant. SETTINGS: A descriptive observational cross-sectional study at primary and secondary-level healthcare facilities in India, Pakistan, Kenya and Malawi. PARTICIPANTS: Women attending for routine antenatal care, childbirth or postnatal care at the study healthcare facilities. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES: Physical morbidity (infectious, medical, obstetrical), psychological and social comorbidity were assessed at five stages: first half of pregnancy (≤20 weeks), second half of pregnancy (>20 weeks), at birth (within 24 hours of childbirth), early postnatal (day 1-7) and late postnatal (week 2-12). RESULTS: 11 454 women were assessed: India (2099), Malawi (2923), Kenya (3145) and Pakistan (3287) with similar numbers assessed at each of the five assessment stages in each country. Infectious morbidity and anaemia are highest in the early postnatal stage (26.1% and 53.6%, respectively). For HIV, malaria and syphilis combined, prevalence was highest in the first half of pregnancy (10.0%). Hypertension, pre-eclampsia and urinary incontinence are most common in the second half of pregnancy (4.6%, 2.1% and 6.6%). Psychological (depression, thoughts of self-harm) and social morbidity (domestic violence, substance misuse) are significant at each stage but most commonly reported in the second half of pregnancy (26.4%, 17.6%, 40.3% and 5.9% respectively). Of all women assessed, maternal morbidity was highest in the second half of pregnancy (81.7%), then the early postnatal stage (80.5%). Across the four countries, maternal morbidity was highest in the second half of pregnancy in Kenya (73.8%) and Malawi (73.8%), and in the early postnatal stage in Pakistan (92.2%) and India (87.5%). CONCLUSIONS: Women have significant maternal morbidity across all stages of the continuum of pregnancy and childbirth, and especially in the second half of pregnancy and after childbirth.