Iqbal Alam, Alam Khan.
Maternal Mortality in Kothiala, Causes and Prevention.
J Ayub Med Coll Abottabad Jan ;11(2):37-41.

A study on socio-cultural aspects of maternal deaths was conducted in Kothiala village (population of 29,729) district Abbottabad, Pakistan. Seven maternal deaths occurred during 1998. Data of these deaths were collected from the bereaved families. 6 out of the 7 deceased belonged to very poor class. There was a single BHU for this population where no doctor or Lady Health Visitor was present and in routine the deliveries were conducted by untrained dais. All the patients died of easily preventable causes that included hypertensive disorders (28.57%), antepartum hemorrhage (28.57) and postpartum hemorrhage (42.85%) 2 patients were teenagers, 3 were in the age group of 21-30 and two in 21-d0 years age range. 6 (85%) were unbooked while 1 (15%) had visited the hospital two times during the same pregnancy. Its concluded that ignorance about antenatal checkup coupled with absence of proper health care facilities were the main causes of the maternal mortality in the study population. We recommend that the population of the area should he educated about the importance of antenatal, natal and postnatal checkups and facilities for the same should he provided at the doorstep and a system of referral to the tertiary facilities in high-risk cases should be established.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com