A demographic study and analysis of maternal mortality in a tertiary care centre in Bihar: A five years retrospective study

Abstract

Background: A maternal death is defined as “the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of pregnancy or its management, but not from accidental or incidental causes." The maternal mortality ratio in India was 174 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2015. Most maternal deaths are due to haemorrhage, anaemia, and puerperal complications and the vast majority would be preventable with universal access to antenatal care and an effective system of referral. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was carried out to study the demographic factors and analyse maternal mortality in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Sri Krishna Medical College, Muzaffarpur, Bihar. Data regarding maternal mortality from April 2013 to March 2018 were collected, analysed, and interpreted. Results: In our study, total maternal deaths were 386. Total live births were 43,778. MMR turned out
to be 386 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. The maximum number of deaths occurred in the age group of 20–30 years. 81.85% of deaths occurred within 24 hours of the patient's admission. Haemorrhage was the most common cause of maternal deaths. Conclusion: This study has shown a higher value of MMR due to being a tertiary care centre; most cases referred were in very critical situations and had terminal illness status. There should be proper antenatal care, screening, and postnatal care. Early detection of high-risk pregnancies can save a lot of maternal lives. The referral system should be sound and available round the clock at every level of the health care delivery system. Mother and child health is the promotion, prevention, curative and rehabilitative health care of mothers and children