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2 .3 : MATERNA L HEALTH
Ghanaian society, like many other Afr i can societies, are
strongly p r o-na t alisti c . Marriag e and childbearing are
considered t h e essential vocation for women and therefore many
women marry and child-bear ea r ly. One nat i on a l study. for
examp le, observed t hat by ages 15-1 9 years, 17% of women were
already married, and by 25 years less than 5% had never been
married [17]. Child-bearing, i n mos t Lns 't ances , immediately
follows mar riage. A mother of many children is ....eti - ceepe ce ee ,
while the infertile woman is stigmatized . Fertility rates in
the country have therefore been h i gh ; t he average Ghan a i a n
WOman t od a y expects to deliver 6 .4 children during he r
r epr oduct i v e years (23).
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There h a s been a t rend for fewer children in recent
times. The fertility rate has decreased from the rate of 6.9
observed in 195 5 - 60 (23) . The proportion of pregnant women
with f our or mor e children repo rting t o antenatal clinics has
also dropped f rom 64\ in 1987 to 40\ in 19 9 0 [24 ] .
For Ghanaian women , the Lncreased e xposur e to pregnancy
f rom this high fertility i ncreases t heir risks for pre gn an c y ­
related complications, pa rticularly since t hG majority o f
women fac e a vicious cycle o f poverty, i g no r a nc e and disease.
The maternal morta l i ty rate i n the c ountry is h i g h , and has
s i nce t he mi d 197 0' s been e s timated t o b e 5-10 pe r 1000 live