Maternal deaths in a tertiary health care centre of Odisha: An in-depth study supplemented by verbal autopsy

BACKGROUND: Maternal mortality is a reflection of the care given to women by its society. It is tragic that deaths occur during the natural process of child birth and most of them are preventable. OBJECTIVES: The present study was undertaken to find out the causes and contributing factors of maternal deaths. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All maternal deaths occurring in a year in the medical college and hospital were traced and interviews were taken from the relatives as well as the health care providers who were present at the time of death of the woman. RESULTS: Out of the total maternal deaths, 72% belonged to 20-30 yrs age group, also 46.5% were illiterate, and majority deaths (60.5%) were from low socio-economics status. Direct causes were responsible for 76.7% of maternal deaths. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy were most common (32.6%) cause of direct deaths, while malaria (9.3%) and anemia (7%) were most common indirect causes. Most of the women had to use their own resources to travel to health care facilities. Delays at different levels, often in combination, contributed to the maternal deaths. CONCLUSIONS: The study will serve as an eye-opener to the bottlenecks present in the community as well as in the health facility so as to take appropriate measures to prevent maternal deaths.