ABSTRACT
PIP: The Women's Collective in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, Sanitaria VI region estimated maternal mortality rates for 1989 and 1990 to be 309 and 239/100,000 live births, respectively. The majority of births took place at home, assisted by untrained midwives, and in 68% of cases the place and attendant(s) were not listed. National figures for maternal mortality are 49.4 and 159/per 100,000 in 1989. Thus the proportion of unreported maternal mortality is probably high in Nicaragua. The Collective believers that health workers give substandard prenatal care and fail to refer high risk cases to higher levels of care. They recommend that women mount a permanent campaign, insist on training programs for health workers that focus on women's situation, that more data be collected, and that women themselves take action.^ieng