Prevalence and Risk Factors of Maternal Mortality in a 10-Year Period (2003-2013) in Sabzevar

Objectives The death of pregnant mothers endangers the health of children and the foundation of the family. Learning about the factors affecting this important issue helps to adopt strategies to prevent similar cases. The current study aimed at determining the prevalence and risk factors of maternal mortality in Sabzevar, Iran, over a period of 10 years (2003-2013).
Methods The study population of the current cross sectional, descriptive survey included all pregnant mothers died in Sabzevar from April 2003 to March 2013. Data were collected by referring to the Sabzevar Committee of Maternal Mortality. The medical records were investigated and datasheets were completed for the subjects; then, the data were transferred to SPSS software version 5.11; data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test. The significance level was 0.05.
Results The frequency of death in the current study was 20 . The Chi-square test showed statistically significant relationship between the cause of death and place of residence in the studied cases (P-value = 0.04). A total of 80% of the cases had no referral form or file in the health centers; also, 60% of the pregnant cases looking for the caesarean section had died. The most common causes of death in the cases were bleeding (30%) and the underlying diseases (30%).
Conclusion Factors such as family planning, preventing higher ages pregnancy, educating mothers on the risks and benefits of vaginal delivery and caesarean, and increasing health literacy play important role in reducing the maternal mortality.