Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p>Introduction: Maternal and perinatal mortality remain critically high in sub-Saharan Africa, with Cameroon reporting a maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of 467 per 100,000 live births and perinatal mortality rate (PNMR) of 49 per 1,000 total births. This study investigated the causes and trends of these deaths in Tiko Health District from January 2020 to December 2024. Method It was a retrospective, descriptive, cross-sectional study, which made use of data obtained from the labour and delivery registers of health facilities in Tiko Health district. Information on maternal age, gravida, parity, gestational age, maternal weight, HIV status, maternal complication and neonatal birth weight, sex, APGAR score, birth complications and outcomes were extracted using a structured form. Frequency distributions were performed using SPSS version 27.0 to identify causes and trends in mortality. Results A total of 6,276 deliveries were recorded. Five maternal deaths (0.08%) occurred between 2020 and 2024, giving an MMR of 81.1 per 100,000 live births, with a generally downward trend with a fluctuation in 2023, from; 89.4 in 2020, 81.9 in 2021, 80.8 in 2022, 86.1 in 2023, and 70.2 in 2024. There were also 118 perinatal deaths (1.9%), yielding a PNMR of 18.8 per 1,000 births. Postpartum hemorrhage was the leading cause of maternal mortality (40%), followed by amniotic fluid embolism, sepsis, and maternal exhaustion (20% each). Perinatal deaths were mainly due to asphyxia (31.4%), prematurity (11%), placental abruption (5.1%), and malaria (4.2%). Conclusion The major causes of maternal and perinatal mortality were postpartum hemorrhage and asphyxia, respectively.</p>