Publication:

Maternal mortality: a tertiary centre panic

Background Maternal death has a serious implication on the family, society and nation. The preventable and avoidable factors have been noted in most of the maternal deaths and these can be reduced by effective and affordable actions. The objective of present study was to evaluate the causes of maternal mortality in a tertiary care hospital, assess its epidemiological aspects and suggest remedial measures to reduce the same.

Methods A retrospective study of all hospital records and death summaries of all maternal deaths over a period of 16 months from April 2015 to July 2016 was carried out and epidemiological factors and causes affecting maternal mortality were assessed.

Results A total of 100 maternal deaths occurred over a period of 15 months out of which unbooked and late referrals constituted 75.55 % of maternal deaths. Most maternal deaths occurred in the age group of 20–30 years, multiparous women (73%) and women from rural areas (71.%). Direct obstetric causes were responsible for 91 maternal deaths whereas 50 maternal deaths were due to indirect causes. Most common cause of death (41) was hemorrhage, followed by pregnancy-induced hypertension including eclampsia (15) and sepsis (21).

Conclusions Hemorrhage, sepsis and hypertension including eclampsia were seen as the direct major causes of death. There is a wide scope of improvement because a large proportion of the observed deaths are preventable.