Causes of Death among Women Aged 10–50 Years in Bangladesh, 1996–1997

Limited information is available at the national and district levels on causes of death among women of reproductive age in Bangladesh. During 1996–1997, health-service functionaries in facilities providing obstetric and maternal and child-heath services were interviewed on their knowledge of deaths of women aged 10–50 years in the past 12 months. In addition, case reports were abstracted from medical records in facilities with in-patient services. The study covered 4,751 health facilities in Bangladesh. Of 28,998 deaths reported, 13,502 (46.6%) occurred due to medical causes, 8,562 (29.5%) due to pregnancy-related causes, 6,168 (21.3%) due to injuries, and 425 (1.5%) and 259 (0.9%) due to injuries and medical causes during pregnancy respectively. Cardiac problems (11.7%), infectious diseases (11.3%), and system disorders (9.1%) were the major medical causes of deaths. Pregnancy-associated causes included direct maternal deaths (20.1%), abortion (5.1%), and indirect maternal deaths (4.3%). The highest proportion of deaths among women aged 10–19 years was due to injuries (39.3%) with suicides accounting for 21.7%. The largest proportion of direct obstetric deaths occurred among women aged 20–29 years (30.5%). At least one quarter (24.3%) of women (n=28,998) did not receive any treatment prior to death, and 47.8% received treatment either from a registered physician or in a facility. More focus is needed on all causes of deaths among women of reproductive age in Bangladesh.