Maternal death.

Maternal brain death.

Pregnancy is a biological process that usually takes forty weeks. The more advanced pregnancy is in terms of gestational age, the higher the chances that the fetus would survive in case of a premature and unnatural delivery. Hence, when a pregnant woman is struck by brain death, the fetus’ chances of survival are seriously and immediately threatened. Until recently, there were two choices in su...

Maternal death surveillance and response.

Of the eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals, the goal of reducing maternal mortality is the one that remains the furthest from reaching its targets.'"•' The inability to reliably measure levels and trends contributes to a lack of accountability and, in turn, to lack of progress. A maternal death surveillance and response system that includes maternal death identification, reporting...

Indirect causes of maternal death.

Indirect causes of maternal death.

We read with interest the WHO systematic analysis of global causes of maternal death (June issue) and the WHO maternal mortality trends report and press release. However, we urge caution regarding calls for policymakers, funding bodies, and health actors to give greater importance to indirect than direct causes of maternal mortality. With the exception of HIV infection, the systematic analysis ...

Emergency Referral Transport for Maternal Complication: Lessons from the Community Based Maternal Death Audits in Unnao District, Uttar Pradesh, India

Background An effective emergency referral transport system is the link between the home of the pregnant woman and a health facility providing basic or comprehensive emergency obstetric care. This study attempts to explore the role of emergency transport associated with maternal deaths in Unnao district, Uttar Pradesh (UP).   Methods A descriptive study was carried out to assess the causes of a...