Factors associated with maternal mortality at the Saint-Louis from 2017 to 2019

Abstract

Introduction: In 2015, worldwide, 303,000 women died as a result of complications during pregnancy,
childbirth, or in the days following. Today, almost all maternal deaths (99%) occur in developing countries, with
66% in sub-Saharan Africa.
Objective: To make a statistical assessment of maternal deaths at the regional hospital center of Saint-Louis.
Materials and methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study of 73 cases of maternal death during
the gravid-puerperal period that occurred between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2019, at the Saint-
Louis regional hospital center. Data were entered on EXCEL 2013 software. Analysis was performed on Epi
Info version 3 software.
Results: During our study, 73 cases of maternal death were collected. Maternal mortality was 520 per 100
000 live births. The mean age of the patients was 28.1 years±6.8. Multiparous women accounted for 43.8%
and nulliparous women for 1.3%. The pathologies responsible for the cases of death were hemorrhage
(28.77%), hypertension and its complications (20.55%), dystocia (15.07%), and anemia (6.85%). The causes
of death were direct obstetric in 64.38% of cases and indirect obstetric in 35.62%. Death occurred postpartum
in 68% of cases, during pregnancy in 25% and during labor in 7%. Death was preventable in 77.5% of cases.
Conclusion: Maternal mortality is a real health problem in our practice. It affects young women. The indirect
cause of death is gaining ground more and more. It is avoidable in the majority of cases.