Maternal Mortality in Cameroon: Prevalence survey and Epidemiological Aspects at the Laquintinie Hospital in Douala From 2011 to 2016

Abstract

Introduction: Maternal mortality is the death of a woman occurring during pregnancy or within 42 days after its termination, whatever its duration and location for any cause determined or aggravated by pregnancy or the care it motivated. All countries of the world are affected by maternal mortality. Objective: The objective of this study was to study the epidemiology of maternal mortality at the Laquintinie hospital in Douala. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study with retrospective collection of data on maternal deaths at the Laquintinie Hospital in Douala from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2016. All cases of maternal death conform to the WHO definition were included. The data collected was entered and analyzed respectively by Cspro 6.3 and IBM SPSS 23 software according to age, marital status, type of occupation, parity, quality of prenatal consultation, level of education, patient's place of origin, time of arrival at the hospital and causes of death. Results: Two hundred and fifty-four (254) maternal deaths were identified during the study period for fifteen thousand four hundred and ninety-eight (15,498) live births, representing a maternal mortality rate of one thousand six hundred and thirty-eight per one hundred thousand live births (1638/100000 NV). The 25-30 age group was the most affected (33.1%) by death, with an average age of 29.26 ± 6.1 years. Housewives (51.6%), Singles (73.6%) women with primary education 54.3% were mostly affected. Hemorrhage was the leading direct cause of death (67%) followed by complications from hypertensive disease (14.1). Malaria and HIV infection were the main indirect causes. The majority (53.93%) of the women in our series died within an hour of admission. Conclusion: The maternal mortality rate at Laquintinie Hospital in Douala is 1,638 /100,000 Live Births. The 25-30 age group was the most affected. Singles, housewives, women referred from health centers, women with a primary education level constituted the mask and the majority of women died less than an hour after admission