ABSTRACT
Background: Maternal mortality is an important measure of maternal health
Objectives: To determine the maternal mortality ratio and determinants of maternal mortality in a tertiary care hospital
Patients and Methods: A descriptive study, was conducted in Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department at Sheikh Zayed Hospital Rahim Yar Khan. This was a 3 years study conducted from 1[st] January, 2010 to 31[st] December, 2012. All direct and indirect maternal deaths during pregnancy, labour and perpeurium were included. The reason for admission, condition at arrival, and possible factors responsible for death were identified. The other information including age, parity, gestational age and relevant features of index pregnancy were recorded on a proforma and analyzed by SPSS version 16
Results: There were a total of 30563 deliveries and 29139 live births. Total 168 maternal deaths occurred during 3 consecutive years, with a MMR of 576 per 100000 live births. The highest maternal mortality age group was 20-30 years in which 61.3% deaths were observed. Out of 168 maternal deaths, 26.78% were primigravida. Obstetrical hemorrhage [48.2%] was the most frequent cause followed by hypertensive disorders [20.8%] and sepsis [15%]
Conclusion: Birth facilities in our hospitals should be up to the mark to manage the pregnancy related complications promptly. Our study revealled high maternal mortality ratio in hospital setting with obstetrical haemorrhage, hypertensive disorder and septicemia as leading direct causes of maternal mortality whereas blood reaction as leading indirect cause of maternal mortality