Social

Home page

Social

Azerbaijani Health Ministry explains causes of maternal mortality

26 October 2015 13:04 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Farid Mirzayev – APA. Hypertensive conditions - preeclampsia – is one of the main causes of maternal deaths in Azerbaijan, Leyla Mammadova, secretary of the Scientific-Research Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology and a member of the Health Ministry’s Obstetrical Commission, told APA.

She said timely detection and treatment of preeclampsia can help reduce maternal mortality.

“But unfortunately, women are often too late for registration or just do not visit the doctor unless a [health] problem arises. We’re trying to do all we can to explain the importance of mothers’ timely registration and the antenatal period,” said Leyla Mammadova.

According to her, maternal moratlity in Azerbaijan is diminishing.

“While the maternal mortality was 43.4 mothers per 100,000 babies born alive in 1999, this figure became 35.5 in 2007, 24.3 in 2009, and 14.6 in 2014. Generally, the World Health Organization defines the term “maternal death” as a death that occurs during pregnancy, regardless of the period of pregnancy and localization, or due to any pregnancy-related cause during the first 42 days after pregnancy or any complicating cause in connection with pregnancy. Deaths in accidents or those that happen suddenly and the death of women recently confined of a child are not considered maternal mortality. The maternal mortality is defined as maternal deaths per 100,000 born-alive babies. In accordance with Millennium Development Goal 5, world countries have undertaken to reduce maternal mortality by 75% during 1990-2015. Compared to 1990, maternal mortality worldwide has decreased by 45 percent,” she said.

The scientific secretary went on to add that each fact of maternal mortality is thoroughly discussed at both the Medical Council of the hospital where the death occurred. And a maternal death that occurs during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum is thoroughly discussed at the Health Ministry’s Obstetric Commission for analyzing obstetric complications.

“The treatment strategy and all examinations, conducted from the first week until the last day of pregnancy, are analyzed by the leading experts of the ministry and discussed by the Obstetric Commission. Heads and employees of the medical facility are informed about organizational deficiencies and shortcomings in medical care detected as result of the analysis. If a death that occurs during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum has not resulted from a cause that cannot be prevented by the medical servant, then the doctor will taken necessary disciplinary actions against,” said Mammadova.

She noted that the World Health Organization has analyzed over 60,000 maternal mortalities in 115 countries.

“The analysis revealed the fact that health problems like diabetes, HIV, malaria, and obesity have caused 28 percent of the deaths. Among other causes are heavy bleeding – especially during or following birth-giving (27 percent), infection (11 percent), complicated deliveries and direct obstetric causes (9 percent), abortion complications (8 percent), and thrombus (3 percent),” Mammadova concluded.