OBJECTIVES The analysis of maternal mortality is an important instrument for quality assurance in Obstetrics and should be accomplished periodically. This study analysed cases of maternal mortality between 1995 and 2004. METHODS The Federal Statistical Office (BFS) provided all death certificates between 1995 and 2004 with an ICD-10 code in the obstetric field (indicated by the letter O). Add...

BACKGROUND A decline in the national maternal mortality ratio in Nepal has been observed from surveys conducted between 1996 and 2008. This paper aims to assess the plausibility of the decline and to identify drivers of change. METHODS National and sub-national trends in mortality data were investigated using existing demographic and health surveys and maternal mortality and morbidity surveys...

BACKGROUND Thailand uses cause of death records in civil registration to summarize maternal mortality statistics. A report by the Department of Health using the Reproductive Age Mortality Studies (RAMOS) reported that the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in 1997 was approximately three to four times higher than MMR based on the civil registration cause of death records. Here, we used multiple dat...

OBJECTIVE To look at the trends in maternal mortality in our institution over 5 years. METHODS Records of 112 maternal deaths were retrospectively reviewed to determine the trends and the likely direct cause of each death over the study period. RESULTS There were a total of 112 maternal deaths, while 3931 deliveries were conducted over the 5-year period. The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) w...

OBJECTIVE To determine the yearly maternal mortality ratio over the period 2006-2010 and trends in the causes of 139 audited maternal deaths from 2008-2010 at the Tamale Teaching Hospital in Ghana STUDY DESIGN Retrospective descriptive review of maternal deaths SETTING Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Tamale Teaching Hospital METHODS Data on maternal deaths that occurred over the...

OBJECTIVE To assess capacity to develop routine monitoring of maternal health in the European Union using indicators of maternal mortality and severe morbidity. DESIGN Analysis of aggregate data from routine statistical systems compiled by the EURO-PERISTAT project and comparison with data from national enquiries. SETTING Twenty-five countries in the European Union and Norway. POPULATION ...

OBJECTIVE Near miss audit improves understanding of determinants of maternal morbidity and mortality and identifies areas of substandard care. It helps health professionals to revise obstetric policies and practices. METHODS A retrospective review of obstetric case records was performed to assess frequency ad nature of maternal near miss (MNM) cases as per WHO criteria. For each case, primary...

Background Despite numerous efforts to improve maternal and child health in Malawi, maternal and newborn mortality rates remain very high, with the country having one of the highest maternal mortality ratios globally. The aim of this study was to identify which individual factors best predict utilisation of skilled maternal healthcare in a sample of women residing in Lilongwe district of ...

BACKGROUND The study evaluated the pattern of severe maternal outcome, near miss indicators and associated patient and healthcare factors at a private referral hospital in rural Nigeria. METHODS This was a cross sectional study conducted from September 2014 to August 2015 in Madonna University Teaching Hospital Elele, Rivers State, Nigeria. Pregnant and postpartum women were recruited for the...

BACKGROUND Women with severe maternal morbidity are at high risk of dying. Quality and prompt management and sometimes luck have been suggested to reduce on the risk of dying. The objective of the study was to identify the direct and indirect causes of severe maternal morbidity, predictors of progression from severe maternal morbidity to maternal mortality in Mulago hospital, Kampala, Uganda. ...