Maternal Mortality and 3rd Phase Delay in Lagos State University Teaching Hospital Over 2-Year Period

ObjectiveTo assess the pattern of direct and indirect causes of Maternal Mortality seen in the department of Obstetric and Gynaecology in Lagos State University Teaching Hospital from May, 2019 to May, 2021.This was a retrospective study carried out on 44 mothers who died over Twenty-four months from May, 2019 to May, 2021 in LASUTH.A structured form was used to extract data from death register and case files.They were studied for factors contributing to delay in receiving care and to determine their contribution to maternal mortality. ResultsThe frequency of Maternal Mortality was 2,687 per 100,000 deliveries.About 2.69% of maternal deaths were recorded during the study period.The mean age was 30yrs ± 4.49yrs with larger proportion (43.2%) were para 1 -2.The main cause of death was Hypertensive disorder in 19/44 (43.18%).This was followed by Hemorrhage 9/44 (20.48%),Puerperal sepsis-7/44 (15.91%)Unsafe Abortion 4/44 (9.09%) Ruptured Ectopic Pregnancy-1/44 (2.27%), Pulmonary Embolism-1/44 (2.27%) other cause maternal mortality in LASUTH were Aneamia 1/44 (2.27%), Cardiac disease 1/44 and Hbss complication 1/44 (2.27%).Over 97% death was due to direct causes and 3% was indirect causes.Factors contributing to delay in receiving care were present in 59.09% and they include delay in arranging blood and blood products for hemorrhaging patient, delay in laparatomy in ectopic pregnancy, delay in antibiotics procurement, delay in intensive care unit admission, financial constraints, lack of effective social services and delay in dialysis.