HIV is the main cause of death among pregnant women in Johannesburg, South Africa according to a five-year study of maternal mortality at one of the city’s largest public hospitals. The study, published in the August 2009 issue of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, highlights gaps in the country’s prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) program, which contribute to HIV-positive women missing out on testing and treatment. The study found that the maternal mortality ratio was more than six times higher in HIV-positive women (776 deaths per 100,000 births) than in HIV-negative women (124 per 100,000).
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