Maternal and neonatal health in Malawi: An integrative literature review

Background/Aims: A conservative estimate suggests women giving birth in Malawi are 14 times more likely to die giving birth than women in western nations. Despite attempts to address maternal and neonatal health, Malawi will not meet World Health Organization Millennium Development Goals 3, 4 and 5 for improving gender equity, reducing child mortality and improving maternal health by 2015. This integrative literature review looks through a social lens to view Malawi's progress towards meeting Millennium Development Goals 3, 4 and 5. Methods: A search was conducted using CINAHL, Google Scholar, Medline and Health Source online databases. Initial keywords included but were not limited to: gender bias; gender inequality; midwifery care; maternity; traditional birth attendants; skilled birth attendants; and social determinants. All searches included keywords with Boolean operator ‘and’ Malawi. Search filters were limited to publications dated from 2010 to 2015 and in English only. Additionally, reference list...