A study on maternal mortality in a tertiary care center in South India

Authors : Anupama Suresh, Muralikrishnan Nambiar, Jaice Mary Devasia

DOI : 10.18231/j.ijogr.2019.040

Volume : 6

Issue : 2

Year : 2019

Page No : 173-176

Introduction: Maternal mortality has long been considered as a very good indicator for healthcare quality provided. Pregnancy is considered to be a physiological phase in the lifetime of a woman carrying serious implications on morbidity and mortality. It has been agreed upon that many of the maternal deaths in developing countries can be prevented.
Aim: To study the prevalence of maternal mortality between March 2014-March 2018 in our hospital.
Methods and Materials: It’s a retrospective observational study done at a tertiary care centre in southern part of India. Maternal deaths from March 2014 to March 2018 were looked into. Maternal mortality ratio and causes for the maternal deaths were analyzed and compared. Demographic details were collected and data regarding parity, mode of delivery, gestational age at delivery, antenatal check-ups, co morbid conditions, causes of death were noted and neonatal outcomes were noted.
 Results: Overall live births in the period between March 2014-March 2018 were 18978, of which the number of LSCS were 9590(50.5%), the number of vaginal deliveries were 9388(49.5%), the number of maternal deaths were 39(MMR-205/100000 live births).The leading cause was sepsis 48.6% followed by postpartum hemorrhage (20%). The most common indirect cause was anemia (42.85%).

Conclusion:  Sepsis & hemorrhage emerged as the greatest killers. Many of the reasons of maternal mortality were found to be preventable. Early identification and stratification of risks with prompt initiation of necessary management measures are necessary to prevent these deaths.

Keywords: Maternal mortality, Sepsis, hemorrhage, preeclampsia, direct cause, indirect cause.


Citation Data