title: Eighteen years of maternity care in a new teaching hospital.
abstract: A new maternity hospital was inaugurated in Trinidad in 1981 to provide access for pregnant women to specialist antenatal care and to trained attendants during childbirth. As an academic tertiary-care institution, it also became a referral centre for high-risk pregnancies and obstetric emergencies. The efficacy of the services provided since inception was evaluated by measurement of mortality statistics, which are the most sensitive indices of maternal care. Over a period of 18 years, there were almost 100,000 births. Although the caesarean section rate was low, the perinatal and maternal mortality rates suggest that there is still a wide gap in obstetric standards between the developed world and this country. Improved vigilance for high-risk groups is required to identify potentially preventable deaths.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roopnarinesingh
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bassaw
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sirjusingh
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roopnarinesingh
mesh_terms: D002585:Cesarean Section / Q000401:mortality / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004461:Eclampsia / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006771:Hospitals, Maternity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000401:mortality; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008428:Maternal Mortality; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000401:mortality; D011247:Pregnancy; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / Q000401:mortality; D014300:Trinidad and Tobago / Q000453:epidemiology