Maternal mortality reduction in countries with high fertility: Contribution of family planning policy in the case study of Burkina Faso

Biologically, one of the main differences between males
and females is the reproductive function of females. This difference becomes an important social issue insofar lives of many women are threatened during the period from the pregnancy to the year after delivery. As a lesson of safe motherhood program implementation, it is now well known that every pregnant woman is likely to die from maternal causes. Therefore, women in countries with high fertility levels faced several times (sometimes more than 6 times) the risk of maternal mortality in their life and at any new pregnancy experienced, their risk of death increase. Despite the limits ob-
served in programs to reduce maternal mortality, mainly based on access to health services and delivery assisted by qualified health workers, actions against maternal mortality are still given less consideration to the others socio-demographic aspects of the problem. This study suggests that programs on maternal mortality reduction should consider family planning as a core component of the strategy. Maternal mortality and family planning programs must be closely related to achieve the target number 5 of the millennium goal. In this regard, this study aims to prove and quantify the
importance of family planning in maternal mortality trends in Burkina Faso.