P1-287 Maternal mortality rate in Kurdistan Province Western Iran from 2002 to 2007; an epidemiologic survey

IntroductionNowadays 1500 mothers die due to complications of pregnancy and delivery in the world. This study is aimed to evaluation the frequency of maternal mortality rate and its associated causes in Kurdistan province Western Iran between 2002 and 2007.MethodsData for this retrospective cross-sectional study was collected from the national surveillance system documents including information such as age, occupation, literacy, place of delivery, type of delivery, number of pregnancies, previous deliveries, operating labour, prenatal care, maternal mortality causes, and risk factors in labour.ResultsA total of 46 maternal deaths were reported. Of them 22 cases (47.8%) were lived in urban areas and 24 deaths (52.2%) occurred in the rural areas. The most frequent maternal deaths were in the age group of 24–29 years (39.2%). Most died women were illiterate (76.7%). The pick point of MMR occurred in the year 2004 (34.8%). Most of deaths were occurred in hospitals (69.6%). One fifth of operating labour were undertaken by uneducated midwifes. Overall, 27.9% of cases had not received any prenatal care during pregnancy or care was incomplete.ConclusionsTime trend of MMR during the period of study has significant changes, so that in the years 2002 to 2004 MMR in Kurdistan was higher than the national average. Poor prenatal care, low maternal education and health service shortages in rural areas in particular were the main risk factors associated with increased rate of MMR in western Iran.