ROLE OF ANTENATAL AWARENESS CAMPAIGN ON MATERNAL MORTALITYRATE DURING DELIVERY IN BENUE STATE, NIGERIA.

Maternal mortality is a pressing social health concern in Nigeria, and Benue State is a state where maternal mortality rates are at a very high rate relative to the national and international levels. This paper examines the role of antenatal awareness campaigns in reducing maternal mortality during childbirth in Benue State, Nigeria. The qualitative research design was employed in the study, utilizing semi-structured interviews with ten healthcare professionals and focus group discussions with fifty reproductive women across twenty-three local government regions. Thematic analysis showed that there were four key themes: barriers to antenatal care (financial hardship, transport problems, cultural constraints), health system issues (staffing problems, facilities accessibility, ineffective referral systems), consequences of poor antenatal awareness (late presentation, unsafe deliveries, avoidable deaths), and attitudes towards antenatal care (perceived as something valuable but unattainable in many cases). The results show that antenatal awareness interventions can positively impact early booking, facility-based delivery, and maternal mortality, but the condition depends on systemic health disparities and socio-cultural barriers. The recommendations of the study include the need to enhance primary health care, offering free antenatal care, community-based awareness to both men and women, and increase outreach to rural and displaced populations.