title: Maternal mortality in Benghazi: a clinicoepidemiological study.
abstract: We conducted a clinicoepidemiological study of 14 maternal deaths out of 79,981 live births at Al-Jamahiriya Hospital, Benghazi between 1993 and 1997. The maternal mortality rate per 100,000 live births was 17.5. The reproductive profile of these women was: mean age 31.5 +/- 6.9 years, mean parity 4.5, mean birth interval 14.6 +/- 7.0 months, mean gestation 27.7 +/- 14.6 weeks and mean haemoglobin 9.3 +/- 2.1 g/dL. None of the women had prebooked their delivery, 50% had preconceptional medical or obstetric risk factors, around 70% were anaemic, almost all were admitted with serious medical conditions and > 50% required surgical intervention. The main underlying medical causes of death were: hypertensive disease of pregnancy (28.6%), haemorrhage (14.3%), pulmonary embolism (14.3%) and brain tumour (14.3%).
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Al-Arab Medical University, Benghazi, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Legnain
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: M O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Busarira
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001721:Birth Intervals; D001723:Birth Rate / Q000639:trends; D002423:Cause of Death; D015897:Comorbidity; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006304:Health Status; D006771:Hospitals, Maternity; D006801:Humans; D008002:Libya / Q000453:epidemiology; D008423:Maternal Age; D008428:Maternal Mortality / Q000639:trends; D008429:Maternal Welfare; D010298:Parity; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends