ECLAMPSIA A MAJOR CAUSE OF MATERNAL MORTALITY

Maternal mortality from eclampsia was evaluated in 30 patients admitted with eclampsia at Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar during the period of one year from January, to December, 2000. Majority of patients were primigravidae aged less than 20 years having gestational age of more than 28 weeks. Common maternal complication were pulmonary oedema, loss of blood pressure control and tongue bite. Total number of deliveries during the study period were 2882, prevalence of eclampsia in our study was 10,4 per 1000 deliveries. A total of 17 maternal deaths occurred during the study period, 5 out of these were due to eclampsia. Maternal mortality from eclampsia was 16.66% and accounted for 29.4% of the total maternal deaths during this period.