title: Maternal deaths--a ten-year study.
abstract: In a 10-year retrospective study of maternal deaths at RG Kar Medical College, Calcutta there were 651 maternal deaths with 410 in first 5-year period and 241 in second 5-year period. The leading causes of deaths were due to abortion, toxaemia, haemorrhage (antepartum and postpartum) and jaundice in pregnancy. Direct causes were responsible for death in 77.6% cases, indirect causes in 17.5% cases and unrelated causes in 4.9% cases. Majority (557) were unbooked and mostly multigravida (434) cases. Most of them (251) were in the age group of 20-25 years. Haemorrhage was the single most common cause to claim 188 lives. It was also noted that 155 deaths occurred within 12 hours of hospital admission.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Calcutta.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chatterjee
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mahapatra
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chakraborty
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002423:Cause of Death; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008428:Maternal Mortality; D011247:Pregnancy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors