Severe Maternal Morbidity And Associated Factors In Suntreso And Kumasi South Government Hospitals, Ashanti Region, Ghana

ABSTRACT Background: Ghana’s maternal mortality ratio is one of the highest in the world. To achieve significant reduction in maternal mortality there is a need to go beyond analyzing mortality and explore the risk factors of maternal morbidity. Studying severe maternal morbidity enables faster quantitative analysis and makes it possible to obtain in-depth information on the affected woman herself. The research was conducted therefore to determine factors contributing to severe maternal morbidity in Suntreso and Kumasi South Government hospitals in the Ashanti region of Ghana Methods: A case control study was conducted at the Suntreso and Kumasi South Government Hospitals of Ghana between January 2015 and June 2015. Near miss indicators were assessed through the WHO near miss classification system after following up all obstetrics and gynecology in-patient admitted within the study period. Univariate analyses of categorical variables were expressed as frequencies and proportions. Bivariate analysis was used to show associations between independent variables and severe maternal morbidity. Factors independently associated with severe maternal morbidity were determined by logistic regression. Results: Among 2,238 pregnant women, 15 maternal near miss (MNM), 7 maternal deaths (MD) and 71 potentially life-threatening conditions (PTLC) were identified. Seventy four obstetric cases were referred to KATH for further management. The maternal near miss ratio was 6.9 cases/1,000 LB and PLTC ratio 32.6 cases / 1,000 LB. The maternal mortality ratio was 229.6 cases/ 100,000 LB with a mortality index of 31.8%. iv The most diagnosed potentially life threatening condition was postpartum hemorrhage (57.7%). Risk factors of severe maternal morbidity identified were preterm delivery (