Pathological Aspects of Maternal Mortality: A Tertiary Care Centre Based Study.

Maternal mortality remains a pressing global issue, with a significant number of deaths attributed to direct causes like haemorrhage and hypertensive disorders. Despite healthcare advancements, achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of reducing maternal mortality to below 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030 is challenging. This study was planned to assess the causes of maternal mortality by gross and microscopic examination of viscera. A total of 60 viscera samples were analyzed and the possible causes were established by co-relating the findings with available clinical history. The majority of mortalities occurred in the age groups of 21-25 years and 26-30 years, each representing 33.3% of the total cases. The number of mortalities found in ANC were 17(28.3%) and that of PNC were 43(71.7%). Direct causes constituted of higher percentage 56.7% (34 cases) than Indirect causes 30% (18 cases), whereas in 8(13.3%) cases cause of mortality could not be established. Postpartum haemorrhage, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are significant direct causes of maternal mortality.