Prevalence and causes of maternal mortality during the years 1390-1396 in Hormozgan province

Since the mathernal death affects the family and society´s health, recognizing the causes and finding the preventive measures is essential. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and causes of mortality in pregnant women in Hormozgan province.

In this descriptive cross-sectional study, the study population was all pregnant mothers who died during the years 1390-1391. The information was collected from the hospitals, records available at the provincial health center, the completed maternal death forms, and the interviews on maternal death. Data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics with SPSS software.

The rate of maternal death in Hormozgan province in the study period was 32.76 cases per 100,000 live births and the frequency of maternal death was 100. The most common cause of death was postpartum hemorrhage. The majority of deceased mothers were 18-35 years old (73%), with pregnancy interval more than three years (80%), delivery times less than 5 (87%), rural resident (57%), and wanted pregnancy (86%).The type of delivery was cesarean section in the majority of mothers who died (60%). In addition, 75% of the mothers were died in hospitals and specialists and midwives were helping them to deliver (91%). The highest mortality rate was related to post-delivery period (65%).

In order to reduce the mathernal mortality, it is recommended to provide high quality services to the villagers and promote the referral system, quality of  services to villagers, midwifery protocols, ambulance and hospital equipments, the level of knowledge and skills of staff, and follow up system and to reduce the unnecessary cesarean sections.