Analysis of maternal mortality at tertiary care centre

Background: The aim of the study was to analyse the causes of maternal mortality at a tertiary care centre and find measures to reduce it.Methods: A retrospective study of maternal deaths from January 2018 to December 2020 that occurred at Government Vellore Medical College and Hospital, a tertiary care hospital in Tamil Nadu. Data collected from case records and death reviews.Results: There was total of 71 deaths at the tertiary care hospital during the period January 2018 to December 2020 out of 31407 live births giving Maternal mortality rate of 226/1,00,000 live births. The MMR is high as it is a tertiary hospital catering referral from six districts. Most of the cases were due to late referrals. The majority of the deaths occurred in primigravida (50.7%), in the age group of 21 to 25 years (35.2%) and around term gestational age (49.3%). The most common cause of death in our study was hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (29.5%) followed by PPH (14.08%).Conclusions: From our study we concluded that the most common causes of maternal death were due to direct obstetric causes like severe pre-eclampsia, eclampsia and post-partum haemorrhage. Early identification of high-risk cases, early identification of GHT, anaemia and its correction, early referral of high-risk cases to tertiary centre can prevent most of the deaths.