Table 1 Four main impacts of maternal mortality on families (n = 51)
Impact characteristic | n (%) or mean (SD) | Representative quotations |
|---|---|---|
Impact on Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing | “There is no happiness in the house… It has brought a huge impact because [as] a young man starting life and this thing has happened to you. It has really affected me emotionally and physically. It has brought a lot of sorrows and sadness. [The children] will be asking ‘daddy, where is mommy, and when is she coming back?’ and the fact is that you cannot tell them the truth.” ID 10, husband, age 43 Ever since she passed there is no joy in the family anymore because the slightest thing my children do reminds me of her ID 9, husband, age 39 | |
PHQ-9 mean score | 6.60 (5.97) | |
PHQ-9 clinical categoriesa | ||
Mild depressive symptoms (5–9 points) | 14 (28.0) | |
Moderate depressive symptoms (10–14 points) | 6 (12.0) | |
Moderately severe depressive symptoms (15–19 points) | 5 (10.0) | |
Severe depressive symptoms (20–27 points) | 2 (4.0) | |
ICG mean score | 23.46 (14.58) | |
ICG clinical categories | ||
Significant impairment in functioning (> 25 points) | 19 (38) | |
Impact on Physical Health | “[The woman who died]was the one who was taking the children to the hospital whenever they fall sick.” ID 12, sister, age 40 “She left us a child which we are taking care of… the child [has sickle cell disease] so we are trying to get him treated and we really need help to do that.” ID 6, grandfather, age 69 | |
Participant health now, compared to before the death | ||
Better | 7 (13.7) | |
About the same | 32 (62.7) | |
Worse | 12 (23.5) | |
Family health now, compared to before the deathb | ||
Better | 7 (14.3) | |
About the same | 37 (75.5) | |
Worse | 5 (10.2) | |
Impact on financial stability | “It has brought about a huge financial challenge…When she was at the hospital, we were spending every day [on] medicine and blood transfusion…I spent almost what I have saved.” ID 25, husband, age 37 | |
Household income now, compared to before the deatha | ||
Lower now | 31 (62.0) | |
The same | 17 (34.0) | |
Higher now | 2 (4.0) | |
Impact on Family Structure | “It was too expensive for me and I [couldn’t] support the child for long… so I called my mum to take the child in. At least if the child is with my mum, whatever she eats is what the child will eat. And even if I hadn’t gotten money yet to send for the child’s upkeep I know my mum will take care of [them].” ID 24, husband, age 31 “It has changed a lot of things… Right now I am the only one who is taking care of all the children she left behind. Because of that, I am really going through difficult times. [Deceased wife] was doing all the chores. Now I do it all. I am the one who takes care of [the children]. Everything. I take care of everything.” ID 20, husband, age 48 | |
Status of baby from pregnancy in which the woman died | ||
Stillbirth | 20 (39.2) | |
Neonatal/childhood death | 7 (13.7) | |
Alive | 24 (47.1) | |
Housing situation of alive babies (n = 24) | ||
Living in same household, full-time | 7 (29.2) | |
Living in same household, part of the time | 3 (12.5) | |
Moved to live with another household | 14 (58.3) | |
Total number of children of the women who dieda | ||
Only the baby born during the recent pregnancy | 21 (42.0) | |
1 other child | 9 (18.0) | |
2 other children | 7 (14.0) | |
3 other children | 5 (10.0) | |
4 other children | 3 (6.0) | |
5 or more other children | 5 (10.0) | |
Resources to feed and care for the women’s child(ren) living in the household | ||
Adequate resources | 27 (52.9) | |
Inadequate resources | 11 (21.6) | |
No children living in household | 13 (25.5) | |