A review of maternal near miss events in a tertiary teaching hospital- A tool for improving quality of obstetric care in developing countries: A descriptive study

Abstract

: In 2015, the United Nations Member States adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include reducing the maternal mortality (MM) ratio by two-thirds by 2030. Maternal mortality rates are alarming, especially in low-income countries where 99% of all maternal deaths occurs. Maternal Near Miss event was described by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “A woman who is close to death survived a complication that occurred during pregnancy, delivery or up to 42 days of termination of pregnancy.” This concept was launched in the health system. Maternal near-miss audit was recognized as a useful tool to improve the quality of obstetric care. A descriptive study was conducted at PCMC’s Postgraduate Institute and YCM Hospital Pimpri Pune (Maharashtra) from 1st January 2020 to 30 June 2021. During the study period, Maternal Near miss (MNM) cases were identified as per WHO criteria for enrolment. This study reviewed near-miss cases with aim to study baseline assessment, to analyse cause and intervention to improve health cases.: Of total 9534 admissions, 130 mothers had severe maternal outcomes (114 maternal near-miss cases and 16 maternal deaths). 104(91.23%) MNM cases were between the ages of 20-35 years, 72.13% were from rural, 78(68.42%) were referred from health facilities.Seventy two(63.86%) were multigravida. Sixty Nine (60.53%) had hypertension in pregnancy followed by 62 (54.39%) had haemorrhage.: Our study concluded hypertension in pregnancy and haemorrhage are major causes of MNM cases. ICUs and blood banks play a pivotal role in the prevention of maternal mortality. Developing countries should aim to improve maternal health outcome by improving HDU/ICU facilities and blood bank to reduce maternal mortality.