Maternal mortality in a maternity hospital in Turkey.

BACKGROUND

To determine the leading causes of maternal mortality in a large maternity hospital and to define priorities regarding this subject throughout Turkey.

METHODS

Retrospective, institutional study among 100,531 live births between 1983 and 1992.

RESULTS

Seventeen maternal deaths took place in this institution. Thus, the overall maternal mortality ratio was 16.9 per 100,000. The leading causes of maternal mortality were hemorrhage in seven (41.2%) and pulmonary embolism in six (35.3%) patients. The majority of deaths were observed in the 25-29 and 30-34 age groups and in patients with parity more than two.

CONCLUSION

The relatively low figure of 16.9/100,000 for maternal mortality may be seen as a promising health index. However, obstetric hemorrhage is still the leading cause of this series. Pregnant women less than 20 years old and greater than 35 years old, and grand multiparous women as well as women with hypertension and heart disease are at high mortality risk. The observation of such cases demands further efforts for improved obstetric care in the hospital and throughout Turkey.