THE EFFECT OF TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES ON MATERNAL MORTALITY: THE GUEST MOTHERHOOD PROJECT (GMP) IN TURKEY

Abstract

In undeveloped and developing countries, maternal mortality is an important problem in public health. High maternal deaths observed in some regions of Turkey are related to inequities in reaching health services (low transport facilities). To prevent maternal mortality, pregnant women should have access to health services for professional care before, during, and after childbirth. In Turkey, most maternal deaths are related to socio-economic factors, equity issues, health services and transportation facilities. Especially, transportation facilities to health centers play an important role in preventing maternal deaths. Thus, to prevent the negative effect of the winter season and adverse transportation facilities on maternal mortality, the Turkey Ministry of Health (MoH), aiming to reduce the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in rural areas, initiated the “Guest Motherhood Project (GMP)” to cover all of its urban and rural areas. In this project, health services for pregnant women in risky regions were restructured. In the scope of the project, access problems to health centers were eliminated and rapid access to rural areas and challenging territories of Turkey were provided. Current maternal mortality statistics show that GMP is yielding good results and high quality delivery services at all health centers in every region of the country despite the regional disparities.