RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF MATERNAL MORTALITY AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL OF PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of maternal mortality and identify causes with age groups in tertiary care hospital of Peshawar, Pakistan. METHODOLOGY: A descriptive study conducted at Gynecology Obstetrics units of Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan. with retrospective review of validated records of hospital registers from January 1st January 2009 to 31st December 2011. Convenience sampling used to access the records. A self structured proforma designed to collect validated data on variables (age, cause of death, year of death, place of residence), that were analyzed in Excel- 2007 and trend analysis determined by Joinpoint Analysis Software. RESULT: A total of 277 maternal deaths recorded from Lady Reading Hospital in three years. Hemorrhage remains the leading cause with 27.07% (CI= 0.66, SD= 5.65) followed by eclampsia 15.88 % (CI= 0.60, SD= 5.13), ruptured uterus 10.83% (CI= 0.51, SD= 4.35) and sepsis 10.10% (CI= 0.47, SD= 4.04). Maximum maternal deaths of 33.57 % reported in 26- 35 years, followed by 26.71 % in 15- 25 years, 23.10 % in 36- 45 years and 3.24 % in 45- 55 years and 6.13 % deaths reported from unknown age group as well. Post Partum hemorrhage was significant with P-value (0.002). CONCLUSION: Maternal mortality remains high with leading causes as hemorrhage, eclampsia, ruptured uterus and sepsis in women of 26- 35 years age groups. A strong need to improve the maternity care in tertiary care hospitals and community based education is emphasized for the awareness of the masses, to prevent these deaths