Who Else Dies When a Mother Dies? Investigating the Effects of Maternal Mortality on Children and Families in Southern Punjab, Pakistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46568/pjass.v14i2.749Keywords:
Maternal Mortality, Mother, Children, Southern Punjab, PakistanAbstract
The effects of maternal mortality on children and families are drastic, particularly in countries where maternal deaths are high. Pakistan has the highest maternal mortality rate in the South Asian region. Social, economic, and cultural factors are primarily responsible for the greater number of maternal deaths in the country. Most of the deaths are reported in rural areas. Children and families, after losing a mother, go through testing times that include infant mortality, compromising health conditions of children, remarriage of fathers, discontinuation of education, poor health conditions of children, early marriage of a girl child, and mental disorders among children. The current study is qualitative and has used verbal autopsies to find out the effects of maternal deaths on children and families. Thematic analysis has been used to draw on the major findings of the research. The study concluded that mothers' death discontinuation in children's education, early girl-child marriage, and early engagement in labor work were the effects on family and children. There is a dire need to propose a comprehensive program to control maternal mortality on the part of the government and policymakers.
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