Over the last two decades, the maternal mortality ratio appears to have
fallen by up to 50% in the Farafenni, a rural area of The Gambia. This
reduction almost certainly reflects improvements in access to essential
obstetric services. The ratio, however, is still 50 times higher than
in Western and Northern Europe or North America. This paper provides
information from a community-based study of 623 women who had recently
given birth in the Farafenni area. Information on how, when, and why
care was accessed, and what type of care and information were provided
were obtained from traditional and western methods of health care were
during visits. Women were asked about their experiences during
prenatal, delivery and postpartum periods. Results from this study
highlight a number of opportunities for improving the quality of
maternal health services that could be implemented relatively easily
with existing resources. (Afr J Reprod Health 2002; 6[1]: 74-83
