An epidemiological study of mortality among mothers admitted in a rural tertiary hospital of West Bengal.

Abstract

Maternal mortality reflects the quality of obstetric services given to pregnant women in the community. The objectives of this study were to calculate the maternal mortality rate in a teaching institution, to assess the epidemiological aspects of maternal mortality, and to assess the different causes of maternal mortality. This was a retrospective study where individual records of all maternal deaths occurring in our hospital during the past 6 years from 2009 to 2014 were studied. The cause of death and the factors which led to death in each individual case were analyzed. A total of 105 maternal deaths occurred during the study period. The mean maternal mortality ratio in the study period was 233/100,000 live births. Most maternal deaths (37.14%) occurred in the age group of 20-24 years, multiparous women (74.28%) and in women from rural areas (70.47%). Most of the women were unbooked or unregistered patients (64.76%), and 40.95% cases were referred cases. Direct causes accounted for 90.47% of maternal deaths whereas 9.52% of maternal deaths were due to indirect causes. Hemorrhage (26.6%) and eclampsia (27.6%) were the major direct causes of maternal deaths. There is scope for improvement as a large proportion of the observed deaths are preventable. Improving the rural health centers, upgrading the referral centers, and proper transport system is the need of the hour.