Reproductive health outcomes: Insights from experts and verbal autopsies

摘要

BackgroundReproductive health outcomes are a measure of maternal and neonatal health. South Africa’s state of maternal health is of particular concern because of the two Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets for monitoring maternal health, namely MDG 5a, to reduce the maternal mortality rate by three-quarters, and MDG 5b, to achieve universal access to reproductive health by 2015. Maternal mortality ratio and universal access to reproductive health receive unequal responsiveness from government. Monitoring the maternal mortality ratio has received favourable attention compared to ensuring universal access to reproductive health, hence the limited published research findings on the latter.